Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion is an ''

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) for wine in 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 of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where it is situated in the

Libourne Libourne (; oc, label= Gascon, Liborna ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Ém ...

subregion on the right bank of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

. It was granted AOC status on 14 November 1936, and the AOC designation granted to the wines which have been harvested on the land of the

Puisseguin Puisseguin (; oc, Puègseguin) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is around 15 km east of Libourne. In October 2015, 43 people died in a crash between a bus and a lorry. Geography ...

commune. of vine planted areas have belonged to the appellation in 2005, with a production of 34,648 hl. Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion only produces red wine, and nearly all of the grape varieties from Bordeaux can be and are used, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot,

Côt 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 ...

, etc., although it is Merlot that is used most often. Like the vineyards of Montagne, the vineyards of Puisseguin are located in the area northeast of

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938. In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), i ...

on the right bank of the Barbanne. Together with Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion and Montagne-Saint-Émilion, it is one of the "satellites" of

. The base yield is fixed at 45 hl/hectare with a limit of 20%. Before the

chaptalization Chaptalization is the process of adding sugar to unfermented grape must in order to increase the alcohol content after fermentation. The technique is named after its developer, the French chemist Jean-Antoine-Claude Chaptal. This process is not in ...

and concentration process, the must (the residue of grapes, after the juice has been extracted) must contain a minimum of 187g/L of natural sugar. After fermentation, the wine must have a minimum alcohol level of 11% vol.

Grape varieties

Traditionally, the wines of Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion are a collection of different grape varieties. The three main varieties being Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon: * Merlot - the most dominant grape variety, accounting for 80% of the planted area. It is a variety that ripens early, and needs cool and humid conditions as well as soil rich in clay. It ripens well and gives wine its colour, a good alcoholic richness, a full bodied texture and is smooth and round on the palette. * Cabernet Franc - an important element of the Libourne plantations and represents nearly 15% of the blend at Saint-Émilion. Of medium precocity, it is grown mostly in chalky or quite warm soils. It gives the wine an aromatic flavour, lightly spiced, with a coolness and tannic structure, giving the wine an aged flavour. * Cabernet Sauvignon - representing around 5% of the plantations, it is a grape that is particularly adapted to warm and dry soil (gravel, sand, clay or chalky soil). It gives wine a gently spiced flavour, complex with a tannic richness, favourable to its long and harmonious preservation. The AOC regulations for Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion also allows the use of two other grape varieties: the Malbec (or côt) and the

Carménère The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot. A member of t ...

. Only the Malbec grape is still used.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion Bordeaux AOCs