Bordeaux supérieur

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area is marked by the proximity of large bodies of water — the Atlantic Ocean, the Gironde estuary and the valleys of the Garonne and the Dordogne — which play an important thermoregulating role.
• The moderating oceanic influences on spring frost fade as one moves away from the sea and the large valleys, approaching the forest massifs of the Landes, Saintonge and the Double Périgourdine.
• Rainfall is well distributed throughout the year and averages between 700 and 800 millimetres annually, in an unpredictable oceanic climate that gives rise to a marked vintage effect.
• The viticultural Gironde is drained by the watersheds of the Dordogne in the north and the Garonne in the south, which join at the Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde estuary, delimiting three major geographical areas.
• The geological formations of the Bordeaux vineyard belong exclusively to the Tertiary and Quaternary, mainly marls, molasse and limestones from the Eocene and Oligocene, along with gravelly and sandy Plio-Quaternary alluvial formations.
• On the Tertiary formations, brown clay-limestone soils dominate, while along the rivers gravelly deposits form well-drained, warm terraces, ideal for the vine.
• Wind-blown loams, locally called "boulbènes", and gravelly clays between the Garonne and the Dordogne form surface formations sometimes several metres thick.

• The rise of the Bordeaux vineyard dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries, following the first-century introduction by the Bituriges Vivisques of a cold-resistant grape variety, Vitis Biturica, ancestor of the cabernets.
• Around 1750, Bordeaux's trade with England and then Holland led to the introduction of ageing in barrels and then in bottles, thanks to the sulphur wick known as the "Dutch match".
• Merlot, a close relative of the cabernets, really only began to spread from 1830 onwards, mainly with the introduction of grafting, which reduced its tendency to coulure and millerandage.
• Faced with phylloxera from 1875 to 1892, one of the first solutions was to reclaim the floodable areas of the plains by flooding the vineyards for a few weeks in autumn to kill the insects' larvae.
• Against downy mildew, the remedy was found by Ulysse Gayon, one of the founding fathers of oenology, with the invention of Bordeaux mixture, a copper-based preparation.
• The controlled designation of origin "Bordeaux supérieur" was recognised by the decree of 14 October 1943, rewarding growing methods that favour grape concentration and longer ageing.

• White wines with fermentable sugars are built around sémillon, giving round, ample, golden-coloured wines with aromas of candied fruit.
• These age-worthy white wines, kept for 4 to 8 years, frequently reveal floral, honey and spice aromas.
• Red wines, mainly from a blend of merlot and cabernet-sauvignon, are round, ample and structured, and can be freshened in very ripe years by the acidity of petit verdot and cot.
• When young, red wines develop aromas of fresh and candied red fruit, often evolving on ageing toward spicy and cooked-fruit notes, requiring long ageing.

• Compared with bordeaux, a higher planting density, a reduced number of buds at pruning and a lower maximum yield per plot produce more concentrated wines with higher sugar content and a higher minimum natural alcoholic strength.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 4 juin 2026
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB