Côtes de Bourg
15 communes at the mouth of the Dordogne, looking across the water at the Médoc, where Malbec covers about 10% of the vines, more than anywhere else in Bordeaux.
The place
Côtes de Bourg is 15 communes on the right bank where the Dordogne meets the Gironde, facing the Médoc: Bayon-sur-Gironde, Bourg, Comps, Gauriac, Lansac, Mombrier, Prignac-et-Marcamps, part of Pugnac, Saint-Ciers-de-Canesse, Saint-Seurin-de-Bourg, Saint-Trojan, Samonac, Tauriac, Teuillac and Villeneuve. The ground is of 3 kinds: Quaternary silts, sandy clay gravel on the slopes, and clay and limestone. About 3,400 hectares are in vine, worked by some 250 growers, 170 independent and 80 in cooperatives.
The rules
Red from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, also called Cot, as principal varieties, with Carmenère and Petit Verdot admitted to 5% of the vines since 2023; white from Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Colombard. The cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook), the appellation’s official rulebook, asks 4,500 vines a hectare; 54 hectoliters with a ceiling of 65 for the red and 60 with a ceiling of 72 for the white; and 10.5% of natural alcohol for both. The red is sold from April 1 of the year after the harvest. The order of July 27, 2023 that admitted the 2 new varieties also banned weeding a whole plot with chemicals. The label may read Bourg, Côtes de Bourg or Bourgeais.
The names
No classification. The reds were recognized in 1936 and the whites in 1941, and the frost of 1956 devastated the vineyard. Côtes de Bourg carries Côtes in its name but stands outside the Côtes de Bordeaux family, and its signature is Malbec, at about 10% of the area.
- Colors
- Red and dry white
- Communes
- 15, on the right bank at the mouth of the Dordogne
- Vineyard
- About 3,400 hectares; some 250 growers, 170 independent and 80 in cooperatives
- Grapes
- Red: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, with Carmenère and Petit Verdot to 5%; white: Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Sémillon, Muscadelle, Colombard
- Density
- 4,500 vines a hectare at least
- Yield
- Red 54 hectoliters, ceiling 65; white 60, ceiling 72
- Alcohol
- 10.5% natural at least
- Release
- Reds from April 1 of the year after the harvest
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- 1936 for red, 1941 for white; cahier of July 27, 2023
Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Côtes de Bourg, arrêté du 27 juillet 2023 · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux · Syndicat des Côtes de Bourg · INAO, Côtes de Bourg · INAO and the BO-AGRI, cahiers des charges
The stack
The same ground in Côtes de Bourg may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur and Crémant de Bordeaux. A grower chooses which appellation to sell under, and the narrowest is almost always the dearest.
It shares named communes with Blaye, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux and Côtes de Bordeaux.
The appellations of Bordeaux are stacked, not laid side by side. The map draws the whole stack. Open the map
Châteaux on this site
News from Côtes de Bourg
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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.