Barsac

bar-SAHK
How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.

Sweet white from one commune on a limestone plateau inside Sauternes, where the growers may choose the name on the label, Barsac or Sauternes, and work under the same strict rules.

The place

Barsac is one commune on the left bank of the Garonne, where the Ciron runs in; the appellation’s rulebook says the Ciron’s waters cool under the trees and form fogs where they meet the warmer Garonne. It lies inside the Sauternes area. What sets it apart is the soil. Where much of the rest of Sauternes is gravel rises, Barsac is a plateau of fissured limestone under a thin skin of red soil, sand over a red clay left as the limestone dissolved. About 400 hectares are in vine, in the hands of some 30 growers, and Barsac and Sauternes share one producers’ body.

The rules

The cahier des charges, the appellation’s official rulebook, is the Sauternes one in everything that matters. The grapes are Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle, at 6,500 vines a hectare at least, and the yield is 25 hectoliters a hectare, with a ceiling of 28. They are picked by hand, in successive passes through the rows, and must carry 221 grams of sugar a liter. The wine must reach 15% of natural alcohol, at least 12% of it acquired by fermentation, and keep at least 45 grams of sugar a liter. The appellation was recognized on September 11, 1936, 19 days before Sauternes itself.

The 2 names

A grower in Barsac may label the wine Barsac or Sauternes, a right older than the decree that wrote it down, and about one third of the crop goes out as Sauternes. The brokers of 1855 made no distinction either: the Barsac growths were ranked in the same list as the rest of Sauternes, 10 of them, 2 among the first growths, and this site prints each under the name on its label.

Color
Sweet white
Commune
Barsac
Classified
10 growths of 1855, 2 of them Firsts
Vineyard
About 400 hectares, some 30 growers
Soil
Red sand over red clay, on a fissured limestone plateau
Grapes
Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle
Density
6,500 vines a hectare at least
Yield
25 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 28
Alcohol
15% natural, 12% acquired at least; 45 g/l of sugar left
Harvest
By hand, in successive passes
The 2 names
A Barsac may be sold as Barsac or as Sauternes
AOC since
September 11, 1936

Sources: INAO, cahier des charges Barsac · INAO, comité national, Barsac, Sauternes, Bordeaux, 5 novembre 2015 · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, Barsac

The stack

The same land in Barsac may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux and Sauternes. A grower chooses which appellation to sell under, and the narrowest is almost always the dearest.

The appellations of Bordeaux are stacked, not laid side by side. The map draws the whole stack. Open the map

The pyramid of names shows what each step promises: vines a hectare, bottles, ripeness, day of sale, grapes. Climb from here

Classifications that reach this appellation: The Classification of 1855 and The Michelin Guide selection.

Terroir

Barsac is a sea floor with its cover pulled back. The lower Ciron, a marshy corridor under trees, has stripped bare the starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) on the land behind Barsac, and the slab makes up 77.0% of the delimited area, flat and low. The stone owes its name to J. Delbos, who was struck by how many tiny starfish bones it held.

Where the slab dissolves and weathers, it leaves a red clay, sanded over afterward by the terraces and the Landes sand. The soil that results is red with iron and, in the words of the Langon map, “comes close to Mediterranean soils.” Beneath it, in their study of the Sauternais soils, B. Pucheu-Planté and G. Seguin found a soft limestone that weathers easily and a sandy one, hard and extremely compact. That hidden mix, they wrote, makes the wines differ from one property to the next.

A borehole in the commune crossed 3 m of young cover before it reached the limestone, then stayed in it for 100 m. Lift the red skin and the sea is there.

844 ha delimited
  • Slope wash and cover1.3%
  • River and estuary deposits of today8.2%
  • Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles13.4%
  • Starfish limestone and marine marls77.0%

Shares of the delimited area, measured on BRGM’s geological map, in families by the age and rock its legend prints, youngest first.

Half its delimited soil lies above 13 m, and 9 tenths lies between 8 and 18 m. 0.7% of it is steeper than 10%.

Measured section

01020304050mBarsac: delimited area0123456 km

The line runs 6.4 km, from 43 m to 7 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 8 and 17 m.

Colors: River and estuary deposits of todayIce age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebblesStarfish limestone and marine marls

Measured section: one elevation every 10 meters, west to east, along the whole of a 6.4 km line set across the appellation by a fixed rule, not chosen for the view (IGN, RGE ALTI 5 m), with the geology at the surface (BRGM, BD Charm-50). Heights stretched 20 times. The layers below the surface are not drawn.
The units, as BRGM prints them
CodeName and age, as printedShare
Slope wash and cover1.3%
CFpFormations superficielles1.3%
River and estuary deposits of today8.2%
Fy3-zAlluvions subactuelles à actuelles indiféernéciées (sic), Pré-boréal à actuel8.2%
Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles13.4%
Fxb(a)Basse terrasses - Terrasse de Bègle (type 6) indifférenciée, Saalien - "Riss"12.6%
and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.9% in all
Starfish limestone and marine marls77.0%
g1-AsCalcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin77.0%

Informative figures, computed from INAO’s digitized parcel delimitation of October 12, 2026 and BRGM’s harmonized geological map (BD Charm-50); heights from IGN’s RGE ALTI 5 m. The plans held at the town hall are the legal reference. The delimited area is always somewhat larger than what is planted.

Sources: BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Langon à 1/50 000, 1978; B. Pucheu-Planté and G. Seguin, Les sols viticoles du Sauternais, Connaissance de la Vigne et du Vin 9(3), 1975; INAO parcel delimitation (file of 2026-10-12) laid over BRGM BD Charm-50 Gironde, harmonized geological map.

Its soil, layer by layer · See it in 3D · See it on the Map · Compare it with another appellation · All about Terroir

Châteaux on this site

News from Barsac

5

  1. Sep 24, 2026

    Sauternes 2023 confirms its balance in bottle

    Sauternes and Barsac’s 2023 classified growths are now bottled, showing richness, freshness, botrytis expression and immediate appeal, with acidity higher than in 2022.

    Sauternes needs vintages that combine classical concentration with freshness and accessibility. The first post-bottling view suggests 2023 could support a more contemporary, less ceremonious case for drinking sweet Bordeaux.

    Source: Terre de Vins BarsacSauternes The VintageRules and Classifications

  2. Jun 1, 2026

    Sauternes 2025 reinforces a historic run of great vintages in Bordeaux

    The 2025 Sauternes and Barsac vintage in Bordeaux is being described as one of the most consistent in recent years, with good yields and strong botrytis development for the fourth consecutive year, according to Revista ADEGA.

    Source: Revista ADEGA · BarsacSauternes The VintageHistory and Archives

  3. May 15, 2026

    Bordeaux 2025: Ideal conditions lead to luscious Sauternes

    According to Decanter, a near-perfect cycle of morning mists, sunshine and rainfall produced a small but beautiful 2025 Sauternes crop, with an average yield of 12.5hl/ha. Sauternes and Barsac produced pure, luscious sweet wines with vibrant freshness.

    Source: decanter.com BarsacSauternes The Vintage

  4. May 6, 2026

    Bordeaux 2025, whites

    According to jancisrobinson.com, tiny yields produced powerful Bordeaux 2025 white wines, with especially promising sweet wines from Sauternes and Barsac.

    Source: jancisrobinson.com BarsacSauternes The New BordeauxThe Vintage

  5. Apr 20, 2026

    What Were People Drinking in 1855?

    In 1855, Napoleon III requested a Bordeaux wine classification for the Paris Universal Exposition. The hierarchy covered red wines from the Médoc, Château Haut-Brion in the Graves, and sweet white wines from Sauternes and Barsac, with harvests beginning on October 7.

    Source: terredevins.com Château Haut-Brion BarsacGravesMédocSauternes Rules and ClassificationsThe Vintage