\n<\/p>\n
Bordeaux\u2019s wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds.<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped to Britain, claret was soon our favoured wine, an unofficial byword for bordeaux red, which in recent decades has become increasingly full-bodied.<\/p>\n
The Bordeaux protected designation of origin has now formally validated bordeaux claret, linking it to the existing Bordeaux appellation. Yet the bottles, available from the 2025 vintage, will differ from what many in Britain consider claret \u2013 lighter, less tannic and lower in alcohol.<\/p>\n
Bordeaux has been greatly affected by climate breakdown. Some impacts have been a \u201cpositive challenge\u201d, said St\u00e9phanie Sinoquet, the managing director of the Bordeaux growers\u2019 association, with producers turning to untraditional, heat-resistant grape varieties. Warmer conditions were allowing grapes to reach a \u201cbetter and more consistent ripeness\u201d.<\/p>\n
Consequently, ever-rising alcohol levels were of concern \u2013 15% is now common. For Jean-Raymond Clarenc, the director of the Bordeaux branch of the Grands Chais de France, the new classification is a \u201cstrategic response to these environmental shifts. By opting for shorter macerations and a profile that values freshness over power, we can produce balanced, elegant wines even in warmer vintages. It\u2019s a way of turning a climatic challenge into an oenological opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wine consumption habits are changing for several reasons. Warmer weather means drinkers are seeking lighter, fruitier bottles \u2013 in France as well as Britain, consumption of red wine is falling. Lighter, chillable reds have become de rigueur \u2013 bordeaux claret is designed to be consumed at 8-12C, experts told the Guardian. \u201cFresher and fruitier styles are perceived as more relaxed and inclusive,\u201d said Sinoquet, adding they were more versatile and easier to drink outside meals.<\/p>\n
While lighter claret (and the even lighter clairet, a dark ros\u00e9) never fully disappeared, Bordeaux producers turned to powerful reds that earned international acclaim and appealed to wealthy collectors, and their prices soared. \u201cClassic bordeaux reds will continue to offer the structured, age-worthy styles,\u201d said Sinoquet.<\/p>\n
Many cited bordeaux\u2019s spiralling prices as a reason for its struggles. \u201cA 50-year boom is over, vineyards are being abandoned, we\u2019ve even ripped out a few plots ourselves,\u201d said Tony Laithwaite, the founder of the wine retailer Laithwaites. He cited collapsing demand in key markets including China, sales in France dropping and a swing towards white wine. \u201cBordeaux\u2019s posh and pricey image just doesn\u2019t fit any more, in these times of straitened circumstances for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jonathan Kleeman, a sommelier and wine consultant, millennials are less likely to collect expensive wines than previous generations, preferring wines that are ready to drink. \u201cThe new category is going to be interesting,\u201d Kleeman said. \u201cIt actually harks back to the old days. Bordeaux didn\u2019t used to be the big wines they are today. It\u2019s actually bringing an old English term back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Could it confuse drinkers? \u201cNot really, these wines are aimed at younger generations who don\u2019t really use the word \u2018claret\u2019,\u201d he said. Kleeman cited other old wines now fashionable again, from p\u00e9tillant naturel<\/em> or \u201cpet-nat\u201d, a traditional form of sparkling wine, to the use of amphorae, ceramic storing vessels popular with natural wine producers. \u201cIt could be a very good move, and people \u2018in the know\u2019 might like the irony of calling it \u2018claret\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Burgundy is widely considered the world\u2019s most expensive wine region. Will claret be more in line with its pinot noir reds? \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d said sommelier Tom Claxton. \u201cI think the similarities will be a lighter body, but I\u2019d expect these to be more playful or \u2018fun\u2019 wines.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bordeaux\u2019s wine industry has historically adapted to consumer habits. In the 1970s the region leaned towards white, but by the 2000s was famed for powerful oak-aged reds. Now it\u2019s turning to a much older form of red with a name familiar to anglophones: claret. With origins in the 12th century, when it was first shipped<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[22659,186,7652,5323,4785,14780,5339,4259,9460],"class_list":{"0":"post-43281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-bordeaux","9":"tag-climate","10":"tag-gain","11":"tag-official","12":"tag-pressure","13":"tag-result","14":"tag-status","15":"tag-type","16":"tag-wine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}