Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux
How to read this
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.
1 name, 2 appellations, on the slopes of the right bank of the Garonne facing
The place
The rules
The sweet white, from Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle, is picked by hand in successive passes from grapes touched by noble rot and carrying 255 g/l of sugar; it must reach 15% of natural alcohol and keep at least 51 g/l, at 37 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 40, and it must be bottled at the estate. The red asks 52 hectoliters with a ceiling of 65 and 11.5% of natural alcohol; its Malbec must always be blended with another principal variety, and it is sold from March 31 of the year after the harvest. The 2 wines are planted at 4,500 vines a hectare.
The names
No classification on either side. The sweet white was delimited in 1919, decreed in 1937 and made an appellation of its own in 1973. The red was
- Colors
- Sweet white as
Cadillac ; red asCadillac Côtes de Bordeaux - Communes
- 22 for the sweet white; 39 for the red
- Vineyard
- Red 1,247 hectares, 138 growers
- Grapes
- White: Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle; red: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec
- Density
- 4,500 vines a hectare at least
- Yield
- Sweet white 37 hectoliters, ceiling 40; red 52, ceiling 65
- Alcohol
- Sweet white 15% natural, 51 g/l of sugar left, 255 g/l in the must; red 11.5%
- Harvest
- Sweet white by hand, in successive passes, bottled at the estate
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- Sweet white 1937, its own appellation in 1973; red 1937, renamed 2009
Sources: BO-AGRI, cahier des charges
The stack
The same land in
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
Terroir
From Latresne to Paillet, the riverside road runs at the foot of a cliff. It is starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries), the floor of an Oligocene sea, plain to see at Cambes and Lestiac. Then, near Rions and
The whole escarpment above the Garonne valley is the outward sign of a deep upfold in the rocks, running parallel to the river between
The limestone itself takes 13.3% of the soil. Over the rest lies what rivers and slopes laid down: old Garonne gravels, often buried under silt, and sand and clay that crept down the hillsides. From the crests above Capian, the 2 oldest gravel sheets can be told apart by what they are made of and how high they sit. At
- Slope wash and cover29.0%
- River and estuary deposits of today1.0%
- Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles23.2%
- Landes sand and the oldest river deposits18.9%
- Shell sands (faluns), limestones and marls of the Miocene0.4%
- Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone12.1%
- Starfish limestone and marine marls13.3%
- Lake limestones and clays0.3%
- Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes1.7%
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 70 m, and 9 tenths lies between 24 and 105 m.
The same delimited soil as
Measured section
The line runs 6.9 km, from -1 m to 99 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 47 and 107 m.
Colors: Slope wash and coverRiver and estuary deposits of todayIce age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebblesLandes sand and the oldest river depositsAgenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestoneStarfish limestone and marine marls
The units, as BRGM prints them
| Code | Name and age, as printed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Slope wash and cover | 29.0% | |
| CFp | Formations superficielles | 28.2% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.8% in all | ||
| River and estuary deposits of today | 1.0% | |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 1.0% in all | ||
| Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles | 23.2% | |
| Fxb(a) | Basse terrasses - Terrasse de Bègle (type 6) indifférenciée, Saalien - "Riss" | 1.8% |
| Fwb(D) | Moyennes terrasses - Terrasses du Malleret sup. indifférencié (type 3 à 5), Esltérien - "Mindel" | 1.2% |
| Fva(D) | Très hautes terrasses (RD Garonne) - Terrasse d'Artigues (type 1) indiférenciée, Waal - "Donau-Gunz" | 4.2% |
| Fu | Très hautes terrasses (RD Garonne) - Terrasse de Cénac, Eburonien - Donau | 16.0% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.0% in all | ||
| Landes sand and the oldest river deposits | 18.9% | |
| Ft(Sa) | Fmt de Sadirac, Tiglien - "Biber-Donau" | 18.9% |
| Shell sands (faluns), limestones and marls of the Miocene | 0.4% | |
| and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.4% in all | ||
| Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone | 12.1% | |
| g2-A | Molasse de l'Agenais sup. à faciès argileux dominant, Chattien continental | 2.6% |
| g1-A | Molasse de l'Agenais inf. à facies argileux dominant, Rupélien continental | 9.5% |
| Starfish limestone and marine marls | 13.3% | |
| g1-As | Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin | 13.3% |
| Lake limestones and clays | 0.3% | |
| and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.3% in all | ||
| Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes | 1.7% | |
| e7-g1-S | Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies sableux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental | 1.7% |
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; BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Pessac à 1/50 000, 1978; BRGM, Notice explicative de la feuille Podensac à 1/50 000, 1996; INAO parcel delimitation (file of 2026-10-12) laid over BRGM BD Charm-50 Gironde, harmonized geological map; IGN RGE ALTI 5 m, Gironde, edition 2021-04-19.
See it on the Map · Compare it with another appellation · All about Terroir
Châteaux on this site
Also in this appellation, with no page here yet: Château Génisson, Château Mille Anges, Château Payre,
News from Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux
6
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Bordeaux joins a European organic wine campaign
According to EIN Presswire,
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux etCadillac and Abruzzo have launched EU-thentic Organic Wines to promote organic wine and the European Union organic logo.The partnership gives participating Bordeaux producers a shared European platform for communicating organic certification to consumers.
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THE EU FAB 6 CLOSES A SUCCESSFUL EDITION OF LONDON WINE FAIR 2026
The EU FAB 6 showcased PDO wines from
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux andCadillac during the 3-day London Wine Fair 2026. -
An extremely successful evening dedicated to Bordeaux
Club Wein&Genuss held a Bordeaux Edition evening at Hotel Bernerhof on Friday, March 27, with more than 30 participants and wines from
Château Siran -Margaux , Château BIAC-Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux and Terrois de Crus Jan & Florian Thienpont. -
Right Bank château extends with acquisition of its neighbour
Château des Mille Anges, a Bordeaux estate near
Cadillac -sur-Garonne, has bought neighboring Château Génisson. The owner plans to replant 20 hectares, signaling expansion despite wider vineyard pullouts and weak sales. -
THE EU FAB 6 BRINGS ABRUZZO AND PREMIÈRES CÔTES DE BORDEAUX AND CADILLAC PDO WINES TO UK WINE BARS
The EU Fab 6 is bringing Abruzzo and
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux andCadillac PDO wines to UK wine bars through a series of tastings and masterclasses taking place across the United Kingdom. -
"After being told I was 'perched' so often"
Domaine des Perchés , inCadillac , is breaking with conventional practices under its 8th and 9th generations of owners to attract new wine consumers. The 60-hectare estate has adopted organic and biodynamic farming and planted forgotten and non-Bordeaux varieties.