A new generation of young vintners are injecting a dose of casual cool into the region’s traditional winemaking scene
Pop culture and Bordeaux wine are unlikely bedfellows. The Bordeaux establishment is more than happy to perpetuate the historical image the region has thrived on: the wine labels’ sketches of glitzy chateaus and gritty farmhouses remind drinkers of this sepia-hued zeitgeist. That is why winemaker Thibault Bardet is quite an anomaly: he has named his quaffDornish Wine, a reference to the red ambrosia portrayed in the medieval fantasy TV series, Game of Thrones. The wine label even depicts the orange sun and spear insignia associated with the Dornish kingdom in the show.
The fresh-faced 28-year-old Thibault is a big fan of Game of Thrones, and his wine is his geeky way of “recreating something real from the show”. “I had the support and trust of my family, even if this project was completely different than those we used to have,” recalls Thibault, whose father Philippe manages the Saint-Émilion-based Vignobles Bardet. “Even those who don’t really watch Game of Thrones like the idea [of a wine] inspired by the most famous TV show at the moment.”
Since there was no mention of the wine’s taste in Game of Thrones, Thibault scoured books and memorabilia to get clues from the fictional environs the ambrosia was made in. He learned that the wine was “powerful and as dark as a blood” and the vines grew in sandy soils. He decided to make his Dornish Wine as a straight Merlot, which also grows in his sandy parcels in Bordeaux.
Clever marketing aside, the Dornish Wine 2016 is delicious—rich, round and fruity, with lingering dark chocolate and leathery accents. In short, it’s masculine, and it feels like the kind of quaff the hirsute characters would be sipping in the show. Thibault has also made a sulphur-free version of the Dornish Wine to cater to the growing demand for natural wines.
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