Graves (, ''
gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
ly land'') is an important
subregion
A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion.
United Nations subregions
The Statistics Division of the United Nations (UN) ...
of the
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
region. Graves is situated on the left bank 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 – ...
River, in the upstream part of the region, southeast of the city
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...
and stretches over .
Graves is the only Bordeaux subregion which is famed for all three of Bordeaux' three main wine types—reds, dry whites and sweet wines—although red wines dominate the total production. Graves AOC is also the name of one ''
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 bo ...
'' (AOC) which covers most, but not all of the Graves subregion.
The area encompasses villages including
Sauternes,
Pessac
Pessac (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a member of the metropolis of Bordeaux, being the second-largest suburb of Bordeaux and located just southwest of it. Pessac is also home to ...
,
Talence
Talence (, ; oc, Talança, ; ca, Talença, ) is a commune in the Gironde department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
It is the third-largest suburb of the city of Bordeaux, and is adjacent to it on the south side. It is ...
,
Léognan
Léognan (; oc-gsc, Leunhan) is a commune in the Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France.
Population
Its inhabitants are called ''Léognanais''.
Wine
It is located in the Graves area of the Bordeaux county, known for its ...
,
Martillac,
Saint-Morillon, and
Portets
Portets (; oc-gsc, Portèth) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Portets station has rail connections to Langon and Bordeaux.
Population
See also
* Château de Mongenan, a chateau and botanic ...
.
The name Graves derives from its intensely gravelly soil.
[H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 98 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ] The soil is the result of
glaciers
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
from the
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
, which also left white
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...
deposits that can still be found in the soil of some of the top winemaking estates.
[K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pg 134 Workman Publishing 2001 ]
History
The Graves is considered the birthplace of
claret
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
. Graves wine production for export dates back to
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of Henry II of England, King Henry I ...
,
who married Henry II, King of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
, creating a flourishing trade between both countries: wine versus coal and iron. In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the wines that were first exported to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
were produced in this area. At that time, the
Médoc
The Médoc (; oc, label= Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the ''département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''( Pagus) Medu ...
subregion north of the city Bordeaux still consisted of marshland unsuitable for viticulture, while Graves were naturally better-drained.
Château Pape Clément, founded at the turn of the 14th century by the future
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V ( la, Clemens Quintus; c. 1264 – 20 April 1314), born Raymond Bertrand de Got (also occasionally spelled ''de Guoth'' and ''de Goth''), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 5 June 1305 to his de ...
, was the first named chateau in all of Bordeaux. In 1663,
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys (; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English diarist and naval administrator. He served as administrator of the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament and is most famous for the diary he kept for a decade. Pepys had no mariti ...
' mention of
Château Haut-Brion
Château Haut-Brion () is a French wine, rated a ''Premier Grand Cru Classé'' ( First Great Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of ...
was the first recorded mention of French claret in London.
After Médoc was drained by the Dutch in mid-17th century, Médoc gradually took over the role as the source of the most prized Bordeaux wines. In the
Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855
The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...
, only one Graves property, Château Haut-Brion, one of the four original
First Growths, was included among the red wines, with all the rest being Médoc properties. All the sweet wines of the 1855 classification were from
Sauternes, which is a part of Graves.
A
classification of Graves wine
The wines of Graves in the wine-growing region of Bordeaux were classified in 1953 by a jury appointed by Institute National des Appellations d'Origine, and approved by the Minister of Agriculture in August of that year. The selection was revised w ...
was carried out in 1953 for its red wine producers. Dry white wines were included in an updated 1959 classification.
[C. Fallis, editor, ''The Encyclopedic Atlas of Wine'', p. 194, Global Book Publishing 2006 ] In 1987, the part of Graves containing most of the producers of its most expensive wines, closest to the city of Bordeaux itself, created a separate AOC under the name
Pessac-Léognan. This has had the effect of devaluing the name and price of wines simply labeled with the Graves
appellation
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 bo ...
.
Wine styles
As with
Médoc
The Médoc (; oc, label= Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the ''département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''( Pagus) Medu ...
,
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 Lebanon ...
is the predominant grape, but a somewhat greater proportion of
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 ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the ...
is typically used in the blend, with smaller amounts of
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 style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being u ...
,
Petit Verdot
Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...
and
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 ...
. The dry white wines are a blend of
Sauvignon blanc
is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...
and
Sémillon
Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in France and Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC.
History
The Sémil ...
.
A well-known sweet white
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
is made in the commune of Sauternes, which is located in the southeast corner of the Graves region.
Appellations in Graves
The Graves subregion contains the following ''Appellations d'origine contrôlées'' (AOCs).
Graves AOC
Graves AOC is the basic appellation of the Graves subregion, and can be used for both red and dry white wine. of vineyards were dedicated to this appellation in 2004.
Graves Supérieures AOC
Graves Superieur AOC is an appellation for sweet white wine covering the same area as Graves AOC. The wines are generally considered as simpler than those of Cérons AOC. About of vineyards were dedicated to the production of Graves Supérieures in 2004.
Pessac-Léognan AOC
This part of the Graves, located just south of the city of Bordeaux, is home to the first growth estate Château Haut-Brion, as well as all the 1953 classified Graves Growths, including
Château La Mission Haut-Brion
Château la Mission Haut-Brion is a Bordeaux wine from the Pessac-Léognan appellation, classed among the ''Crus Classés'' in the Graves classification of 1953. La Mission Haut-Brion is the sister property of the First Growth Château Haut-B ...
and
Château Laville Haut-Brion. In addition to wine production, the area is known for its crops of
pine tree
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden ac ...
s, and vineyards are often separated by rows of forest trees.
[H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 100 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ] The soil of Pessac-Léognan is composed of gravel
terraces with sediments from different
geological era
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochrono ...
s.
Pessac-Léognan received appellation status in 1987, and produces both red and white wines.
All of the estates named in the 1959 Graves classification are located in this appellation.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant grape variety, followed by Merlot and the white wine grapes Sauvignon blanc and Sémillon. The white wines of this area are barrel
fermented
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
and aged on their
lees.
Sauternes AOC and Barsac AOC
Sauternes is an appellation of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white,
dessert wine
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal ...
s such as the ''Premier Cru Supérieur'' classified
Château d'Yquem.
Wines produced in the commune of Barsac, such as ''Premiers Crus''
Château Climens and
Château Coutet, are allowed to be labeled either with the commune name (as Barsac AOC) or with Sauternes. The intense sweetness is the result of the grapes being affected by ''
Botrytis cinerea
''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" or ...
'', a fungus commonly known as
noble rot
Noble rot (french: pourriture noble; german: Edelfäule; it, Muffa nobile; hu, Aszúsodás) is the beneficial form of a grey fungus, ''Botrytis cinerea'', affecting wine grapes. Infestation by ''Botrytis'' requires moist conditions. If the we ...
. In the autumn, the
Ciron
The Ciron (; oc, Siron) is a left tributary of the Garonne, in Gironde, Southwest France. It is long.
Geography
The Ciron rises in the eastern end of the Moors of Gascony, in Landes. It flows north-west, mainly through the moors of Gironde ...
river produces mist that descends upon the area and persists until after dawn. These conditions are conducive to the growth of the fungus, which
desiccates the grape and concentrates the sugars inside. The three main grapes are of this are Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc and
Muscadelle.
[H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' pg 102 Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 ]
Production costs for this area's botrytized wines are comparatively high. The evaporation and fungus affections produces low yields, one-fifth to one-sixth of that in other Bordeaux regions. The berries are normally harvested individually from the bunch, with pickers going through the vineyards several times between September and November to ensure the berries are picked at their optimal points. The wine is then fermented in small oak barrels, further adding to the cost. Even with half bottles of the First Growths priced at several hundred dollars, these wines still have difficulties turning a profit, and in the mid 20th century, a string of bad vintages drove many growers in the region out of business.
Cérons AOC
Cérons AOC is an appellation for sweet white wines of similar style as Sauternes, but with no producers as noted as the classified Sauternes properties and therefore with lower prices. On the other hand, the wines are considered superior to those of Graves Supérieures AOC of which Cérons effectively is an enclave.
References
See also
*
List of vins de primeur
*
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
*
Bordeaux wine regions
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 ...
{{Portal bar, Wine, France
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux AOCs
Geography of Nouvelle-Aquitaine