Ep 576: The Greats of Bordeaux Saint Estèphe

Wine for Normal People

Alcohol, Lifestyle, Arts, Education, Food, Wine, Dining, Grapes

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Saint Estèphe is the northernmost of the six communal appellations of the Médoc. 50 kilometers/30 miles north of the city of Bordeaux, this red wine only appellation borders Pauillac to the south and a part of the Haut-Médoc in the north. This commune is very different from the others I’ve covered and the wines are amazing, but of a completely different ilk (they are also much more affordable!).

Photo: Château Cos d'Estournel. Credit: Cos d'Estournel photo library

The largest of all the major, prestigious Médoc communes, Saint Estèphe is varied but its diversity, which has been a hinderance in the past, has become a great asset with climate change and better viticulture. Today the wines have gone from tough wines requiring long aging to softer, tasty wines that are approachable earlier. This is not the most prestigious commune (it has no first growths) but it is unique and probably the one which I have the most of in my cellar! I love these wines and the people who make them.

In this show, I cover what makes Saint Estèphe so unique. As in the other Greats of Bordeaux shows, I review the history, terroir, climate, and then discuss the top Châteaux.

For reference, H ere is a link to the 1855 Classification

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wine for Normal People, the podcast for people who like wine, but not the snobbery that goes with it.
0:15.7	I'm your host Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book and Certified Wine Dork.
0:21.3	This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access. Wine Access's team of
0:26.3	Wine Pros selects wines for the site that represent the cream of the crop. Check out my exclusive
0:31.0	wine club with Wine Access where I select the theme and then six bottles that are classic examples
0:35.5	of what I'm trying to teach you about. Wines of Spain, wines of France, blends, you name it.
0:39.8	We cover it.
0:40.6	$150 per shipment four times a year, and it includes shipping.
0:44.2	Go to wineaccess.com slash normal and listen in the middle of the show for more details.
0:49.3	It's that time when I do the Bordeaux series again, and this time I'm covering the last of the four
0:56.5	major, famous, amazing communes in the Maedoc. Now, there are six named communes or six
1:04.0	smaller communes in the Maidoc, Lestrach, Moulis, Margot, San Julien Pollyac, and the one I'm doing now, Sana Staph. But Lestrach and Moulis, Nalis, Nis, Margot, Saint-Julian-Poliac, and the one I'm doing now, San Estef.
1:13.5	But Lestrach and Mouis generally are paired together.
1:17.1	They're inland.
1:18.0	They are not on the river.
1:19.5	The four majors are, and we've already covered them, Margot, San Julien, Poliak, and then we are doing
1:25.8	San Estef.
1:26.9	I hope that you're enjoying this look at Bordeaux.
1:30.0	It is such an important part of the wine world.
1:32.9	I know a lot of people don't think it's cool or maybe they're not that interested in it
1:37.1	because it's not new and they're not doing funky wines.
1:41.3	These are classic historical wines that are so delicious and come in a lot of
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