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The Gironde appellations
AOCs guarantee the quality of each wine by certifying the soils it is grown on, how it is made and the producer’s expertise. A safety guarantee for consumers? Certainly. With an extra privilege – that of drinking a wine steeped in character.
How can you make sense of this mosaic of appellations?
Regional appellations correspond to the administrative borders of the county (excluding forests and rivers): Bordeaux Red, Bordeaux Rosé, Bordeaux Clairet, Bordeaux White, Bordeaux Supérieur Red or White, Crémant de Bordeaux White, Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé and Fine de Bordeaux.
Sub-regional appellations distinguish a region: Entre- deux-Mers, Graves, Médoc, etc.
Commune appellations. Created in line with some owners’ wishes, these are often the most prestigious: Barsac, Loupiac, Margaux, Pauillac, Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Saint-Estèphe and Sauternes.
The Gironde AOCs break down into 4 families of red wines:
- Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur: Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Bordeaux Clairet, Bordeaux Rosé and Crémant de Bordeaux.
- Médoc and Graves: Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac- Médoc, Margaux, Moulis, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien, Graves and Pessac-Léognan.
- Côtes de Bordeaux: Blaye, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Bourg and Côtes de Bourg, Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, Graves de Vayres and Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux.
- Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Fronsac: Saint-Emilion, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Lussac-Saint-Emilion, Montagne-Saint-Emilion, Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion, Saint-Georges-Saint-Emilion, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Pomerol, Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac.
And 2 families of white wines:
- Dry white wines: Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux and Bordeaux Sec, Bourg and Côtes de Bourg, Côtes de Blaye, Crémant de Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers, Entre-deux-Mers Haut Benauge, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, Graves, Graves de Vayres and Pessac-Léognan.
- Golden white wines: Barsac, Bordeaux Haut-Benauge, Bordeaux Supérieur, Cadillac, Cérons, Côtes de Bordeaux-Saint-Macaire, Graves Supérieures, Loupiac, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, Sainte-Croix-du-Mont, Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux and Sauternes.
Zoom on the French Appellations of Controlled Origin system
It was a Gironde-native who came up with the French Appellations of Controlled Origin system: Joseph Capus, an agricultural professor in Cadillac introduced the principle of tightly controlling each of the production elements, including soil, grape variety, cultivation method, yield and alcohol content.
The Decree-Law of July 1905 thus led to the creation of the AOC and the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine, tasked with laying down the production conditions for each appellation.
The oldest AOCs in Gironde are the dessert white wines of Barsac, Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont (1936). The most recent are Saint-Emilion Grand Cru (1984) and Pessac-Léognan (1987).
Did you know?
Bordeaux wines are unique in that they are the fruit of a blend: batches of grape varieties – of different ages – from one property are blended, unlike “cuvées”, which are practised in other wine regions.
For more information:
Go to the website of the Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bordeaux www.bordeaux.com
