Saint-Julien

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical area features stepped terraces lying between 10 and 30 metres in altitude, arranged parallel to the axis of the Gironde estuary.
• These terraces have been dissected into ridges by a dense hydrographic network of Gironde tributaries, composed of the "esteys" and the "jalles".
• The deep geological substratum consists of limestones, marls, and clays of Oligocene age, entirely covered by a Quaternary-age gravel facies.
• The soils developed on the gravelly terraces are either of a more or less leached brown type or of a young podzolic type.
• The temperate oceanic climate, regulated by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gironde, experiences in certain years rainy autumnal depressions or warm, sunny late seasons, generating a marked vintage effect.

• The 1855 Bordeaux wine classification, carried out for the Exposition Universelle at the initiative of Napoleon III, identified nine classified growths in Saint-Julien-Beychevelle; there are eleven today, following the division of one of them.
• The Saint-Julien appellation concentrates the highest density of classified growths, with a vineyard of approximately 900 hectares farmed today by only 23 proprietors.

• The wines display a very deep colour and combine finesse with power, the predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon imparting a tannic structure that is conducive to a remarkable ageing potential.
• Merlot contributes roundness and fruit, while blending with Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot reinforces the structure and complexity, the latter variety also bringing freshness in years of great ripeness.
• After extended ageing, these wines develop a bouquet of great elegance whose identity is highly recognisable.

• The management of the vineyard with controlled yields makes it possible to obtain very ripe, healthy, and highly concentrated grapes, enabling very long macerations and substantial extraction.
• A long, traditional élevage is essential to encourage the tannin–anthocyanin combinations necessary for colour stabilisation and the softening of the tannins, which thereby lose their hardness.

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 22 novembre 2011, JORF 24 novembre 2011
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — CIVB