Abouriou (; French spelling of

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

''aboriu'', early) is a red

French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...

grown primarily in Southwest France and, in small quantities,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is a blending grape that, along with

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

, Fer,

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, and

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

, is used to make the ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

'' (AOC) wine of Côtes du Marmandais. Abouriou can also be made into a

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

, as it is used in some ''

vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (; 'country wine') was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former '' vin délimité de qualité ...

'' wines. The grape is known for its low

acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

and high

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and Precipitation (chemistry), precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widel ...

content. Though Abouriou shares several

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

(alternative names other than the full botanical name) with the

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine in the Burgundy wine, Burgundy region. Beaujolais wines are generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in grape tannins, tannin, but like most ...

grape

Gamay Gamay () is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as lon ...

, their

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

differs and

DNA evidence Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

has shown the two varieties to be distinct. In California, the grape is sometimes called Early Burgundy, another allusion to Gamay. With a tendency to

bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...

and ripen early, the vine produces high yields and vigorous growth with a relatively high resistance to most grape diseases.

History

Ampelographers Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of th ...

believe that Abouriou originated in Southwest France in the

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.Villeréal where the grape has long been associated with. The grape was once widely planted throughout the region until the phylloxera epidemic of the mid-19th century devastated the area and sharply reduced Abouriou's numbers. The grape was near extinction until a local farmer discovered abandoned plantings of the vine growing up the wall of a ruined castle outside of Villeréal. Numa Naugé, a private grape breeder from Casseneuil in Lot-et-Garonne, cultivated

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

s of Abouriou from those vines and presented them to French viticultural authorities in 1882 for conservation and propagation. Naugé's work in saving Abouriou from extinction is honored today with the alternative name Précoce Nauge.J. Robinson, J. Harding and J. Vouillamoz ''Wine Grapes - A complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours'' pgs 3-4, Allen Lane 2012

Relationship to other grapes

Despite the similarities in synonyms to the Beaujolais wine grape Gamay, DNA evidence has confirmed that there is no direct relationship between the two grape varieties. However, testing completed in 2009 did show a potential parent-offspring relationship between Abouriou and Magdeleine Noire des Charentes though it is not yet clear which vine is the parent and which is the offspring. As Magdeleine Noire des Charentes has been confirmed as the mother vine to the notable international varieties Malbec and Merlot this means that Abouriou is either a half-sibling or grandparent to those varieties. In the 1950s, Abouriou was crossed with

to produce Ederena and with Tinta Negra Mole at the Unité Expérimentale du Domaine de Vassal & Montpellier SupAgro to produce Egiodola. In the 1970s, Abouriou was crossed with the

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

wine grape Castets in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

at the VSSVVM Research and Breeding Station for Enology and Viticulture to produce several varieties including

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

, Nitranka, Rimava and

Váh The Váh (; , ; ; Wag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich (''in Geograph ...

. In California, some plantings of Abouriou (known as Early Burgundy) were discovered by DNA analysis to actually be Blauer Portugieser which has no known relation to Abouriou.

Viticulture

Abouriou is an early ripening variety that has good resistance to many

viticultural hazards This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *''Ampeloglypter ater'' *''Ampe ...

include powdery and

downy mildew Downy mildew refers to any of several types of oomycete microbes that are obligate parasites of plants. Downy mildews exclusively belong to the Peronosporaceae family. In commercial agriculture, they are a particular problem for growers of c ...

as well as

botrytis bunch rot ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" o ...

Wine regions

In 2008 there were 338

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s (835 acres) of Abouriou planted in France. The vast majority were found in the Lot-et-Garonne department (200 hectares/494 acres) of South West France and the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...

department (100 hectares/247 acres) of the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

. It is a permitted variety in the Côtes du Marmandais AOC and is widely grown around the commune of Cocumont located just southwest of

Marmande Marmande (; in Occitan language, Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''Departments of France, département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the ...

. It is also used as both a blending and

component in several ''vin de pays'' of the southwest including the Vin de Pays de Landes du Lot-et-Garonne'' that covers most of the Lot-et-Garonne department and the ''Vin de Pays de L'Agenais'' that covers the western end of the Lot-et-Garonne around the commune of

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

.Clive Coates ''An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France'' pgs 499-501 University of California Press; First Printing edition (June 2001)

AOC regulations

In the Côtes du Marmandais AOC Abouriou is permitted to be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Fer, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah in the red wine produced on both sides of the

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

river east of the

Bordeaux wine region The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...

. Grapes destined for AOC product must be harvested to a yield no greater than 56

hectoliters The litre (Commonwealth English, Commonwealth spelling) or liter (American English, American spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric units, metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic c ...

/hectares ( ≈ 3 tons/acre) with the finished wine needing to attain a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

of at least 10%.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 66 Firefly Books 2004 When the AOC of

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

was first established, Abouriou was a permitted secondary variety along with Valdiguié, Syrah and Négrette that could be blended into the predominantly Malbec-based (at least 70%) wines. But since 1979, Abouriou's use in Cahors has been prohibited with only Malbec, Merlot, Tannat and Jurançon permitted to be used in the blend.

Outside France

In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the variety has a long history of being grown in California, particularly in the Russian River AVA, where it was known as Early Burgundy due to its tendency to ripen early in the harvest season. In the late 20th century, ampelographer Paul Truel was able to identify most plantings of Californian Early Burgundy to be Abouriou. In recent years, other growers and DNA analysis have discovered that not all Early Burgundy plantings were Abouriou with some being the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Austrian variety Blauer Portugieser instead. A small number of Abouriou vines in the Russian River AVA were initially planted in 1890 b
Giuseppe Martinelli
and the grapes produced from these vines are still used today to make wine.

Styles

According to Master of Wine

Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...

, Abouriou tends to produce deeply colored and very spicy red wines that can be tannic but often lack acidity. Wine expert Oz Clarke notes that Abouriou is often only used in the lesser quality of Southwest France due to its low acid and high tannic nature.Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 34 Harcourt Books 2001

Synonyms

Over the years Abouriou has been known under a variety of synonyms including: Beaujolais, Early Burgunder, Early Burgundy, Gamay Beaujolais, Gamay du Rhône, Gamay St-Laurent, Malbec Argente, Negret de la Canourgue, Noir Hatif, Plant Abouriou, Plant Précoce, Précoce Naugé, Précoce Noir, Pressac de Bourgogne.

Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...

'
Abouriou
"'', accessed 2010-07-01

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties