Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux
The hills around the citadel of Blaye, above the Gironde, carry 3 appellations: Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, the largest of the 5 Côtes de Bordeaux, and beside it the small, strict red Blaye and the white Côtes de Blaye.
The place
Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux is 40 communes around the citadel of Blaye, on the right bank of the Gironde: steep slopes of vines above the estuary, clay and limestone near the town, sandy gravel to the north and a patchwork to the southeast. It covers 6,000 hectares, with 450 properties and 3 cooperatives, and makes some 280,000 hectoliters, or 35 million bottles, 90% of it red.
The rules
Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux makes red from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec, with Carmenère and Petit Verdot as accessory varieties, and dry white from Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Sémillon and Muscadelle, with Colombard and Ugni Blanc to 15%, at 4,500 vines a hectare. The red asks 52 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 65 and 11.5% of natural alcohol; it is raised until March 15 and sold from March 31 of the year after the harvest. The white asks 62 hectoliters with a ceiling of 72 and 10.5%. The rules sit in the cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook) of the Côtes de Bordeaux, the official rulebook, and the version in force was homologated on June 4, 2026. The red Blaye is the stricter wine: a few dozen hectares and some 20 producers, held to 6,000 vines a hectare, 48 hectoliters with a ceiling of 60 and 12% of natural alcohol, and raised until March 15 of the second year.
The names
No classification. Until the decree of October 29, 2009 the reds of Blaye were Premières Côtes de Blaye; the decree made them Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, the name of a family of hillside appellations whose association dates from 1985.
- Colors
- Red and dry white
- Communes
- 40, around the citadel of Blaye
- Vineyard
- 6,000 hectares, 450 properties and 3 cooperatives; some 280,000 hectoliters, 90% red
- Grapes
- Red: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec; white: Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Sémillon, Muscadelle
- Density
- 4,500 vines a hectare at least; Blaye 6,000
- Yield
- Red 52 hectoliters, ceiling 65; white 62, ceiling 72; Blaye 48
- Alcohol
- Red 11.5%, white 10.5% natural at least; Blaye 12%
- Release
- Reds from March 31 of the year after the harvest
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- Côtes de Bordeaux decree of October 29, 2009; cahier of June 4, 2026
Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Côtes de Bordeaux, arrêté du 4 juin 2026 · INAO, cahier des charges Blaye, projet 2023 · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux · Syndicat des vins de Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, en chiffres · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux · INAO and the BO-AGRI, cahiers des charges
The stack
The same ground in Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bordeaux and Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux. A grower chooses which appellation to sell under, and the narrowest is almost always the dearest.
It shares named communes with Côtes de Bourg.
The appellations of Bordeaux are stacked, not laid side by side. The map draws the whole stack. Open the map
Châteaux on this site
- Château Bel-Air La Royère
- Château Frédignac
- Château Gigault
- Château Haut Bertinerie
- Château les Jonqueyres
- Château Monconseil-Gazin
- Château Mondésir-Gazin
- Château Roland La Garde
- Château Segonzac
Also in this appellation, with no page here yet: Château Bourdieu.
News from Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux
4
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Looking back at the first Odyssey of the Two Banks
Vignobles de l’Estuaire held its first Odyssée des deux rives tasting on Île de Patiras for local wine influencers and trade prescribers. Around forty growers presented red and white wines from Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg, Médoc and Haut-Médoc.
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Hailstorm shortly before the grape harvest in Gironde
A hailstorm swept across Gironde's right bank on August 26, shortly before harvest, with hail reaching 20 centimeters in vineyards and severely affecting Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, according to Blick.
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This red wine under €7 won 3 gold medals and 2 stars in the Hachette Guide
According to leparisien.fr, Château de Bourdieu 2020, a Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux red promoted by Cdiscount for under €7, won 3 gold medals and 2 stars in the Hachette Guide.
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This gold-medal red wine under 7 euros earned 2 stars in the Hachette guide
Château Bourdieu 2020 Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux red wine won a gold medal and 2 stars in the Hachette Guide and is promoted for under €7 at Cdiscount ahead of year-end meals.