Regional Bordeaux AOCs

In the Bordeaux wine region there are seven regional Appellations d'origine contrôlée (AOCs) that may be used throughout the Gironde department. These are Bordeaux Rouge AOC, Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge, Bordeaux Clairet, Bordeaux Rosé, Bordeaux Blanc, a dry white, Bordeaux Supérieur Blanc, a sweet white, and Cremant de Bordeaux, a sparkling méthode champenoise wine. The regional appellations together form the largest world-class wine vineyard, making up more than half of the production of the prestigious Bordeaux wine region. and representing more than 55% of all Bordeaux wines consumed in the world^[1].

These appellation wines represent a wide choice of styles and excellent value for money, as most retail for under $30 a bottlearticle by Bill St. John in Chicago Tribune on Oct 12, 2011^[2]

Bordeaux AOC

Wine style

The entry-level Bordeaux AOC reds are fruity and easy-to-drink, and meant for early consumption rather than cellaring. More ambitious reds are usually sold as Bordeaux Supérieur AOC.

Notable exceptions to the general rule of Bordeaux AOC as simpler wines are some dry white wines produced in Médoc and Sauternes, where the production of red and sweet wines dominate. In difference from most of Graves, these areas are not allowed to use any other designation than Bordeaux Blanc AOC for dry white wines. Thus, some very ambitious and expensive dry white wines, such as Château Margaux's Pavillon Blanc and Château d'Yquem's "Y" have to be classified as "simple" Bordeaux Blancs.

All rosé and clairet wines are produced under regional appellations.

Production and Area

The vineyard area devoted to the production of Bordeaux AOC wines is approximately 61,700 hectares (152,000 acres), of which 50,000 hectares (120,000 acres) are used for red wine^[3] and 6,740 hectares (16,700 acres) for white wine.^[4]

Average yearly production is 3,300,000 hectoliters, corresponding to approximately 431 million 75 cl bottles, with 2,300,100 hectoliters of red wine^[3] and 304,000 hectoliters of white wine.^[4]

The maximal authorized yield for Bordeaux AOC is 55 hectoliter per hectare, and the alcohol level of the wine must be between 10 and 13 volume percent.^[3] Dry white Bordeaux may not have more than 4 grams per liter of residual sugar.^[4]

Grape Varietals

For red wines, the most planted grape varietals are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. As most regional Bordeaux AOC wines are produced on the Right Bank, Cabernet Franc is often found in the blend. Winemakers are using more and more MalbecGlamorous Malbec From Chateau Tire Pe, article by Fredric Koeppel, but Petit Verdot is not often seen.

For white wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon each represent 42% of the vineyard surface and Muscadelle 9%.^[4]

Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge AOC

The Bordeaux Supérieur appellation covers the same geographic area as Bordeaux AOC. However, the wine in this appellation is often produced by single parcels of older vines. Moreover, Bordeaux Supérieur wines must be aged for at least twelve month before they can be sold.

Production and surface

Yearly production: 489 23 litres^[5]

Surface : 4,725 hectares (47.25 km²)

Bordeaux Clairet AOC

Bordeaux clairet is a generic AOC for the Bordeaux defined as "clairet". All other appellations in the Bordeaux region, including the most prestigious ones, are entitled to produce under this AOC. Bordeaux clairet is a wine which can either be described as a dark rosé wine or a light-coloured red wine. As there is also a more commonly used Bordeaux rosé designation, Bordeaux clairet is not simply any rosé from Bordeaux.

Bordeaux clairet wines are similar in colour to the wines which were shipped from Bordeaux to England during the Middle Ages, known as French Claret. These wines established the fame of Bordeaux as a wine-making region, and led to the (primarily British) practice of referring to Bordeaux as "claret". They are refreshing wines, appreciated because they can be easily enjoyed with picnics or exotic food.

Production and surface

Yearly production is 52,000 hectoliters from 925 hectares of vineyard surface.^[6] Maximum authorized yield is 55 hectolitres per hectare.

Grape varieties

The authorized grape varieties are the same as red Bordeaux AOC although Merlot is the most common of this AOC.

Summary of characteristics

Production requirements and statistics for the various regional AOCs are as follows:

AOC	Bordeaux (red)	Bordeaux Clairet	Bordeaux Rosé	Bordeaux Supérieur (red)	Bordeaux (white)	Bordeaux Sec	Bordeaux Supérieur (white)
AOC requirements[7][8]
Allowed grape varieties	Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Carmenère, Merlot rouge, Malbec, Petit Verdot				Principal grape varieties (min 70%): Sémillon, Sauvignon (blanc and gris), Muscadelle Accessory grape varieties (max 30%): Merlot blanc, Colombard, Mauzac, Ondenc, Ugni blanc		Principal grape varieties (min 70%): Sémillon, Sauvignon (blanc and gris), Muscadelle Accessory grape varieties (max 30%): Merlot blanc (max 15%), Colombard, Mauzac, Ondenc, Ugni blanc
Specific colour requirement (if applicable)		lightly coloured red	rosé
Grape ripeness (in terms of minimum sugar content)	178 g/l		187 g/l	178 g/l		170 g/l	212 g/l
Alcohol content after fermentation	min 10%		min 11%	min 10.5%	min 10.5% (potential) min 10% (actual)	min 10% max 13%	min 12.5% (potential) max 15% (potential) min 11.5% (actual)
Residual sugar (if applicable)					min 4 g/l	max 4 g/l
Base yield	55 hl/ha			50 hl/ha	65 hl/ha		50 hl/ha
Minimum planting density	2,000 vines per ha
Maximum number of buds kept after pruning	60,000 per ha
Maturation requirement (if applicable), earliest sale date				1 July the year after harvest			1 July the year after harvest
Production statistics[3][4][5][6][9]
Vineyard surface	44,000 ha	925 ha	3,300 ha	10,000 ha	6,740 ha
Average annual production	2,500,000 hl	52,000 hl	180,000 hl	530,000 hl	420,000 hl

References

1. ^ CIVB Economie et Etudes 16/11/2010
2. ^ article by Bill St. John in Chicago Tribune on Oct 12, 2011
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Bordeaux.com: Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur: Appellations: Bordeaux, accessed on 1 October 2008
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bordeaux.com: Dry white wine: Appellations: Bordeaux, accessed on 1 October 2008
5. ^ ^{a b} Bordeaux.com: Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur: Appellations: Bordeaux Supérieur, accessed on 7 november 2010
6. ^ ^{a b} Bordeaux.com: Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur: Appellations: Bordeaux Clairet, accessed on 5 October 2008
7. ^ INAO: Appellation rules for AOC Bordeaux, Bordeaux clairet, Bordeaux rosé, Bordeaux sec, Bordeaux Côtes de Francs and Bordeaux Haut-Benauge (French)
8. ^ INAO: Appellation rules for AOC Bordeaux supérieur, updated until July 12, 2006 (French)
9. ^ Bordeaux.com: Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur: Appellations: Bordeaux Rosé, accessed on 5 October 2008

See also

• List of Vins de Primeur
• Bordeaux wine