Cadillac

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The relief of the appellation area is pronounced and sometimes steep, with high points reaching up to 120 metres in altitude.
• The geological bedrock consists of Tertiary formations, with a base of Astéries limestone overlain by decalcification clays that are more or less sandy and gravelly, forming a medium very well suited to vine cultivation.
• On slopes exposed to the south and south-west, the clayey gravels and breakdown of limestone layers give rise to brown soils that are more or less calcareous and stony.
• Slopes oriented to the north and east are often covered by aeolian silts, promoting leached soils with pseudogley and ferruginous concretions, which are frequently dominated by woodland.
• In autumn, the moisture of morning mists rising from the meanders of the Garonne alternates with warm, sunny spells on the well-exposed hillsides, a phenomenon that Wikipedia describes as favouring the development of noble rot.

• The growth of trade with the Netherlands in the seventeenth century encouraged the production of sweet white wines and spurred innovations such as barrel ageing around 1750.
• The Cadillac appellation is distinguished by the requirement to harvest grapes that are overripe, with the presence of noble rot and/or on-vine passerillage, collected by hand-harvesting in successive tries.
• The controlled designation of origin Cadillac was definitively recognised by the decree of 10 August 1973, at which point the internal regulations established the obligation of estate bottling.

• The colour is golden and gradually takes on amber hues as the wine ages.
• Young, these wines often develop aromas of white fruits and flowers, then evolve towards aromas of candied fruits and citrus, sometimes with toasted notes after barrel ageing.
• These well-balanced wines combine sweetness and elegance with a great aromatic persistence, and are regarded as wines with ageing potential.

• The particular mesoclimate of the appellation encourages, on well-exposed hillsides, the development of noble rot (Botrytis cinerea), which is the origin of great liquoreux wines.

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 29 décembre 2025 publié au JORF le 7 janvier 2026
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB