White Wines from Entre Deux Mers
Literally translated this means 'Between Two Seas" and I must admit I always assumed it would be a region on the ocean. In fact the 'two seas' are rivers, the Garonne and the Dordogne and this region sits between them both. Geographically it is the largest of the Bordeaux regions but it has generally not been seen to be in the same quality league as neighbouring Graves or St Emilion. The reasons for this are long but centre around a lack of investment in the best technology and the lack of top quality winemakers willing to develop the vines in the area.
The result is that there is a lot of wine which is at best very average in quality but generally equally low price. We do not sell any red wines from the region because frankly I have not found one that I think offers the right balance of price and quality.
Bordeaux White wines are a different story and there are several crisp dry Sauvignon Blanc based ones that are a match for anything the Kiwi's can produce and very well priced. These are made by a new breed of winemaker who has spotted that vines and land are really cheap (about 10% the price of St Emilion...) and yet the soils and of course the climate are excellent....for white wines at least.