Sainte-Croix-du-Mont () 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 boun ...

'' (AOC) for sweet white wine from 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 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

France-Sainte-croix-du-mont-panorama-2005-11-06

The wine-growing area is located in the

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

region of France and surrounds the commune of Sainte-Croix-du-Mont in the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

department. It is located on the right 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 – a ...

river, in the

Entre-Deux-Mers Entre-Deux-Mers is a French region, well known as a Bordeaux wine growing region. The geographical area is situated between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne, and is bounded in the east by the border of the Gironde department and in the west by t ...

subregion of Bordeaux.

Appellation

The appellation extends over and the grape varieties grown are

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 Sémill ...

, Sauvignon and

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unide ...

. It has a good geographical location for producing wine affected by

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 ...

as many of the vineyards grow next to rivers and are therefore likely to be affected by the ''

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 ...

'' fungus in the autumn. The noble rot increases the sugar content,

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 sequ ...

, and

glycerol Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

content of the grape clusters. The wines from Sainte-Croix-du-Mont are similar in style to the more famous wines from Sauternes on the other side of the Garonne. In similarity to Sauternes, they can be kept for several decades. The ''Syndicat Viticole de Sainte-Croix-du-Mont'' (Wine-growers Union of Sainte-Croix-du-Mont) is responsible for managing the use of the Sainte-Croix-du-Mont AOC and has managed the related internet site since 2007.

References

External links

Official Website of the appellation Sainte-Croix-du-Mont
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont Aoc Bordeaux AOCs Noble rot wines