Bordeaux-Left Bank

So, if after last week's posting you were all confused about Bordeaux, relax, it will NOT get easier. If you scored anywhere close to 1500 on your SATs and you are a member of Mensa then you might make some sense of the craziness. If not, pour yourself a beer, and listen up.
The Left and Right Bank actually refer to the banks of the river Gironde, which flows through Bordeaux. As the two areas have very different soils, the wines are very different. The Left Bank, which is the bigger area, is mostly gravels and the wines tend to be dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon. The more important appellations are Pauillac, Saint Estephe, Saint Julien, Margaux, Medoc and Graves, and some of the big names like Lafite, Latour, Margaux and Mouton are on this side of the river. Some of these guys have been making wine for centuries, but lately they are harder and harder to find. Not, that there is a Black Friday rush for them. For the last few years or so, it seems that the Chinese market, backed by A LOT of cash, has a tendency of swallowing all of them. I don't know when they became such wine aficionados, but they manage to completely change the market.
There is one big thing to remember about Bordeaux. The wines are always blended using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot, sometimes all of them, sometimes just a couple, but never just one type. Bordeaux wines are about marrying different grapes, and not like California where if you buy a bottle of Cabernet you get a bottle of Cabernet. That is why, sometimes you hear the term in California of Bordeaux blend. They are meant to age, sometimes for decades.
Left bank pairings? The Food Network recommends duck with pan juices, whatever the hell that means. Because of the blending, the wines are very complex and hard to pair with just one item. But since they are Cab dominated, I still think they go with a big, juicy hunk of beef. You don't have to spend crazy cash on the wine, go buy a bottle of Chateau Larose Trintaudon for around $20, sprinkle some salt and pepper on a sirloin and throw it on the grill. Let the meat rest (this will give you some time to keep sipping on the wine), and enjoy. The way these amazing wines are meant to be enjoyed. I think I'm getting hungry.

I finally figured out how to add a pic to the blog, so here it is, a map of Left Bank.
Next week, Right Bank. More confusion.