Graves de Vayres

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard lies on the left bank of the Dordogne, to the west of Libourne in the Gironde department, under an oceanic climate moderated by thermoregulating maritime influences.
• A particular mesoclimate results from the steeper relief of the opposite bank of the Dordogne and the proximity of the tertre de Fronsac, in addition to the moderating effects of the river's water mass.
• The viticultural plateau, cut from north to south by two tributaries of the Dordogne named the Gestas and the Souloire, reaches an average elevation of between 20 and 30 metres with a gentle slope towards the north/north-east.
• The subsoil is composed of sandy clays and siliceous gravels, resting on a system of alluvial terraces that bear witness to the Dordogne's progressive incision into its valley during the Quaternary era, over successive glacial periods.
• The pale, very sandy or clay-gravelly soils with a pebbly fraction coated in ochre clay are easy to work, well drained, slightly leached, and generally low in acidity, all of which favours viticulture.

• A winegrowers' syndicate for Graves de Vayres was founded on 3 January 1926 and decided to include within the delimited parcel register the plots with gravelly soils of the plateau of Arveyres and Vayres, in accordance with local, honest, and established usage.
• The civil court rejected, on 11 February 1928, the opposition of the Graves de Bordeaux syndicate, confirming the legitimacy of the appellation d'origine Graves de Vayres, which was subsequently recognised by the decree of 31 July 1937.

• The dry white wines, made mainly from Sémillon and Sauvignon, combine the liveliness brought by Sauvignon with the richness of Sémillon, the blending with Muscadelle reinforcing the fruity aromas.
• The red wines, blends largely dominated by Merlot, display a round and velvety character with a nose that is often highly aromatic with red fruits, a solid but never harsh tannic structure contributed by Cabernet-Sauvignon, and finesse from Cabernet franc.
• The red wines can be enjoyed young for their fruity character, but show a good capacity for ageing of 5 to 10 years depending on the proportion of Cabernet-Sauvignon in the blend.
• The white wines retaining fermentable sugars, made primarily from Sémillon frequently harvested at overripeness and sometimes blended with Merlot, a historic local variety, reveal themselves to be mellow and supple.

• The meander of the Dordogne brings summer freshness and autumn mists, creating a mesoclimate that enables the ripening of black-grape varieties and the overripening of white ones, encouraging red-fruit aromas and lively fruitiness.

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 26 novembre 2025, JORF 3 décembre 2025
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB