Saint-Émilion () is an ''

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) for red wine in the

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) 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 broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where it is situated in the

Libourne Libourne (; ) 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-Émilion and Pomerol. Geog ...

subregion on the right bank of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

. As a cultural landscape demonstrating a long, living history of wine-making (dating from Roman times), Saint-Émilion was registered as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1999. Its represent 67.5% of the total area of wine-producing communes (

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon dialect, Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southwestern France. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around Libourne), in a regio ...

, Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Étienne-de-Lisse, Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, Saint-Pey-d’Armens, Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens, Vignonet, and a part of the

commune) and 6% of the total

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

vineyard. The wines of Saint-Émilion are typically blended from different grape varieties, the three main ones being

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 ...

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 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Classification

Since 1955, there has been a classification of Saint-Émilion wine. The classification is updated every 10 years or so, and consists of the following levels: ''Premier grand cru classé A'', ''Premier grand cru classé B'', and ''Grand cru classé''. As of the 2022 classification, there are currently two estates at the highest level: Château Figeac and Château Pavie.

Saint-Émilion satellites

Four other appellations situated immediately north and northeast of the Saint-Émilion AOC, across the Barbanne river, are collectively known as the Saint-Émilion satellites. They are Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Montagne-Saint-Émilion, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion, and Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion. There were previous two other appellations: Parsac-Saint-Émilion, which became part of Montagne-Saint-Émilion in the 1970s; and Sables-Saint-Émilion, which became part of Saint-Émilion proper following lobbying by Alain Raynaud of Château Quinault. Of these, Montagne is the largest and Saint-Georges is the smallest. These previously called themselves "Saint-Émilion", but with the development of the AOC system in the 1930s, they were split off as inferior appellations (to not dilute the Saint-Émilion name), but allowed to add Saint-Émilion to the village name. Pomerol also borders St Émilion to the west but is not considered a satellite and many of its wine compete with or outperform their neighbour, and in fact has its own satellite, Lalande-de-Pomerol, also to the north of the Barbanne.

Notes and references

External links

Wine site for Saint-Émilion
Bordeaux AOCs *AOC {{Portal bar, Wine, France

Classification

Saint-Émilion satellites

See also

Notes and references

External links