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 all throughout 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, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

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

grown primarily in Southwest France and, in small quantities,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. 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 n ...

, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah,

Fer Fer (also known as Fer Servadou, Pinenc, Mansois and several other synonyms) is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France and is most notable for its role in the ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) ...

, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, is used to make the ''

Appellation d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical bou ...

'' (AOC) wine of

Côtes du Marmandais Côtes du Marmandais is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for wine located in South West France around the commune of Marmande. With its location just southeast of the Entre-Deux-Mers along the banks of the Garonne river, it is a sate ...

. 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 s ...

'' wines. The grape is known for its low

acidity In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...

and high

tannin Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' (from Anglo-Norman ''tanner'' ...

content. Though Abouriou shares several

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...

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

Beaujolais Beaujolais ( , ) is a French ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) wine generally made of the Gamay grape, which has a thin skin and is low in tannins. Like most AOC wines they are not labeled varietally. Whites from the region, which mak ...

grape

Gamay Gamay is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as long ago as the 15th centu ...

, 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 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 embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...

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

History

Ampelographers believe that Abouriou originated in Southwest France in the

Lot-et-Garonne Lot-et-Garonne (, oc, Òlt e Garona) 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 Villeréal (; Languedocien: ''Vilareal'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. History In 1265, Gaston de Gontaut-Biron gave part of the Montlabour forest to the Count Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of the Kin ...

where the grape has long been associated with. The grape was once widely planted throughout the region until the

phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an aphid that originated in North America and was carried across the Atl ...

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 An international variety is a grape variety that is widely planted in most of the major wine producing regions and has widespread appeal and consumer recognition. These are grapes that are highly likely to appear on wine labels as varietal wines a ...

Malbec and Merlot this means that Abouriou is either a half-sibling or grandparent to those varieties. In the 1950s, Abouriou was crossed with Merlot to produce

Ederena Ederena is a red French wine grape variety that is a crossing of the Bordeaux wine grape Merlot and the Southwest France variety Abouriou. The grape was created in 1952 at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) center in Bordea ...

and with

Tinta Negra Mole Tinta Negra Mole is a red Portuguese wine grape commonly used in the production of Madeira. It is the most widely planted variety on the Madeira islands and is considered the industry's "workhorse A draft horse (US), draught horse (UK) or ...

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

Aveyron Aveyron (; oc, Avairon; ) is a department in the region of Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyronnais'' (masculine) or ''Aveyronnaises'' (feminine) in French. The inhabitants ...

wine grape Castets in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), 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 s ...

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

Hron The Hron ( sk, Hron; german: Gran; hu, Garam; la, Granus) is a long left tributary of the DanubeNitranka,

Rimava Rimava (Hungarian: ) is a river in southern central Slovakia, which flows only in the Rimavská Sobota District. It is a right tributary of the Slaná river. It is long and its basin size is .Váh The Váh (; german: Waag, ; hu, Vág; pl, WagWag
w Słowniku geograficznym Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów ...

. In California, some plantings of Abouriou (known as Early Burgundy) were discovered by DNA analysis to actually be

Blauer Portugieser Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian, Slovenian wine, Croatian wine and German wine grapeJ. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 542 Oxford University Press 2006 found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pfalz and wine re ...

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'' *'' Am ...

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 cruc ...

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), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

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 department (100 hectares/247 acres) of the Loire Valley. It is a permitted variety in the Côtes du Marmandais AOC and is widely grown around the commune of

Cocumont Cocumont () is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department The following is a list of the 319 communes of the French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The communes coo ...

located just southwest of

Marmande Marmande (; in Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''département'' in south-western France. Geography Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the southern railway from Bordeaux to Sète. The town is situa ...

. 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 The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...

.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 (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

river east of the

Bordeaux wine region The wine regions of Bordeaux 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 area of the ...

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

hectoliters The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3). ...

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

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

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

Cahors Cahors (; oc, Caors ) is a commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitanie Region. The main city of the Lot department and the historical center of the Que ...

was first established, Abouriou was a permitted secondary variety along with

Valdiguié Valdiguié is a red wine grape grown primarily in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, where it is generally known by the alias Gros Auxerrois. In California it has been known as Napa Gamay or Gamay 15. Until 1980 Napa Gamay was b ...

, Syrah and

Négrette Négrette is a dark red wine grape grown primarily in South West France in the region between Albi and Toulouse. Wine regions The principal appellation using this variety, Côtes du Frontonnais (red and rosé), requires that 50% to 70% of the ...

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 Tannat is a red wine grape, historically grown in South West France in the Madiran AOC, and is now one of the most prominent grapes in Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". Tannat is also grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazi ...

and

Jurançon Jurançon (; oc, Juranson) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. Population See also *Jurançon AOC, a wine from this commune *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The followi ...

permitted to be used in the blend.

Outside France

In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, 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 The harvesting of wine grapes (Vintage) is one of the most crucial steps in the process of wine-making. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing t ...

. In the late 20th century, ampelographer

Paul Truel Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

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 (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

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 Master of Wine (MW) is a qualification (not an academic degree) issued by The Institute of Masters of Wine in the United Kingdom. The MW qualification is generally regarded in the wine industry as one of the highest standards of professional knowle ...

Jancis Robinson, Abouriou tends to produce deeply colored and very spicy red wines that can be tannic but often lack acidity. Wine expert

Oz Clarke Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster. Early life Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Roman ...

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 Gei ...

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

References

{{reflist Red wine grape varieties