From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Haut-Médoc AOC

Wine AOC in Bordeaux, France

Summary

Wine AOC in Bordeaux, France

Field	Value
name	Haut-Médoc AOC
image	Vineyard in the Haut-Medoc.jpg
type	Appellation d'origine contrôlée
year	1936
country	France
part of	Bordeaux Left Bank, Médoc AOC
sub regions	Saint-Estèphe AOC, Pauillac AOC, Saint-Julien AOC, Listrac-Médoc AOC, Moulis-en-Médoc AOC, Margaux AOC
climate region	Oceanic climate
soil	gravel, chalk, clay
total size	4657 ha
vineyards	392
grapes	Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Carménère
wine produced	32,600,000 bottles
217656 hl

217656 hl Haut-Médoc () is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of southwestern France, on the Left Bank of the Gironde estuary. Covering a large part of the viticultural strip of land along the Médoc peninsula, the zone covers approximately 60 km of its length.

As defined by the original Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) decree of November 14, 1936, its southern edge borders the city of Bordeaux and the Médoc AOC to the north, encompassing fifteen communes exclusive to the appellation, while at the same time it enclaves six appellations made up of nine communes (Saint-Estèphe AOC, Pauillac AOC, Saint-Julien AOC, Listrac-Médoc AOC, Moulis-en-Médoc AOC and Margaux AOC) that are technically wine-making communes of Haut-Médoc. Similarly, Haut-Médoc is a sub-appellation of the Médoc AOC.

Of Haut-Médoc's fifteen wine-producing communes, eight are located along the waterfront of Garonne and Gironde: Blanquefort, Parempuyre, Ludon, Macau, Arcins, Lamarque, Cussac and Saint-Seurin-de-Cadourne. Seven communes lie inland: Le Taillan, Le Pian-Médoc, Avensan, Saint-Laurent-Médoc. Saint-Sauveur, Cissac and Vertheuil.

Few of the estates falling within the generic Haut-Médoc appellation were included in the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 (as all but six of the 61 are located within the AOCs Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe), but several were included in the classification Cru Bourgeois.

History

For most of its history, the Haut-Médoc was a vast region of salt marshes used for animal grazing rather than viticulture. In the 17th century, Dutch merchants began an ambitious drainage project to convert the marshland into a usable vineyard area. Their objective was to provide the British market a wine alternative to the Graves and Portuguese wines that were dominating the market. Using technology that was advanced for that time, the Dutch were able to convert enough marshland to allow large estates to form all along the Gironde. Soon the Bordeaux wine regions of Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pauillac and Saint-Estèphe took shape. By the 19th century, the wine region of the Haut-Médoc was one of the most prosperous in France, with wines that had an international reputation that would be unparalleled till the late 20th century.

A Cru Bourgeois wine from the Haut-Médoc.

The area covers approximately 4,600 hectares of declared vineyards, constituting 28.5% of the Médoc total, annually producing on average 255,000 hectolitres of wine. The variation in types of soil is greater than other appellations in the region, ranging from less than ideal terrain, to conditions on a par with some of the enclaved appellations of more celebrated reputation.

Of the permitted grape varieties of Haut-Médoc, 52% of the viticultural area is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, with additional cultivation of Merlot, Petit Verdot and to a small degree Malbec (locally called "Cot"). Also permitted under the regulations of the AOC are the varieties Cabernet Franc and Carménère.

The INAO specifications demand the following production norms: a high planting density, a minimum of 6,500 plants per hectare, and minimum of sugar, 178 g per litre of must, maximum base yield of 48 hectolitres per hectare, and a minimum alcohol by volume of 10%.

Estates

Of the 392 viticultural properties of Haut-Médoc, 150 participate in winemaking cooperatives, the other 242 being independent wineries.

Troisièmes Crus	Quatrièmes Crus	Cinquièmes Crus	Cru Bourgeois
Château La Lagune
Château La Tour Carnet
Château Belgrave	Château Cantemerle	Château de Camensac
Château Agassac	Château Arche	Château Beaumont	Château Bel-Orme
Château Cambon La Pelouse	Château Caronne Ste-Gemme	Château Cissac
Château Citran	Château Coufran	Château Hanteillan
Château Lachesnaye	Château Lamothe-Bergeron	Château Lanessan
Château Liversan	Château Larose	Château Malescasse
Château Ramage La Batisse	Château Trintaudon	Château Sénéjac
Château Verdignan	Domaine de Cartujac
Château Sociando-Mallet	Domaine Andron

Notes

a. Cru Bourgeois as a term of classification since 1932, was annulled in 2007, and reintroduced in 2009.

References

;General

Haut-Médoc Bordeaux.com, Le Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB)
Haut-Médoc AOC decree, INAO

References

Peppercorn, David. (2003). "Bordeaux". Mitchell Beazley.
Lichine, Alexis. (1967). "Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits". Cassell & Company Ltd..
(2006). "Médoc". Oxford University Press.
Kissack, Chris. "Médoc".
"Haut-Médoc dossier".
Anson, Jane. (July 10, 2007). "Cru Bourgeois classification officially over".
Anson, Jane. (May 13, 2010). "Former Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels boycott new system".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

bordeaux-aocs

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Haut-Médoc AOC — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report