Canon-Fronsac
The southwest corner of Fronsac, where the Isle meets the Dordogne: 2 communes of steep limestone slopes, 270 hectares and about 50 family estates, on the hill a geographer called the cradle of the great wines of the Libournais.
The place
Canon Fronsac sits in the southwest corner of the Fronsac area, on the right bank of the Dordogne where the Isle runs into it. It takes in 2 communes, Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, and only the parcels INAO approved on September 14, 1989; the alluvial flats of the lower valley are left out. This is steep ground: rocky promontories, hollows and a wooded limestone cornice, rising to 61 meters at the tertre de Canon. Under it lie the Fronsadais molasse of sands, sandstone and clay, the limestone of Castillon and the starfish limestone, weathered into brown limestone soils, clay and limestone, and sandy clay. In 2010 the appellation covered 270 hectares and made an average of 11,000 hectoliters a year, from some 50 family estates of about 6 hectares each.
The rules
Red only. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, also called Cot, and Merlot are the principal varieties and must make at least 80% of the vines; Malbec joined them in 2024. Carmenère and Petit Verdot are accessory, to 10% each. At least 5,000 vines a hectare, in rows no more than 2 meters apart. Merlot is picked at 198 g/l of sugar and the other varieties at 180, the wine must reach 11% of natural alcohol, and the yield is 53 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 65. It is raised until June 1 and sold from June 30 of the year after the harvest. The headlands of every plot must be grassed, chemical weeding is held to 30 centimeters on either side of the row, and every grower records each treatment. The cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook), the appellation’s official rulebook, was homologated on December 10, 2024, the same day as Fronsac’s.
The names
No classification. The appellation was recognized on July 1, 1939 as Côtes de Canon Fronsac, a name shortened in 1964. Its history is a history of owners. Cardinal Richelieu bought the land of Fronsac in 1633. In the 18th century Louis-François Armand du Plessis, known as Fronsac, built a folly here in the Italian style and served the wine at Versailles, until the wine became the fashion in Paris. At the end of that century the Libourne merchants Fontemoing, Boyer and Lafon bought estates on the hill. The geographer Henri Enjalbert called Canon the historic cradle of the great wines of the Libournais.
- Color
- Red
- Communes
- Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, on the parcels approved in 1989
- Vineyard
- 270 hectares, 11,000 hectoliters a year, some 50 estates of about 6 hectares (2010)
- Ground
- Fronsadais molasse, Castillon limestone and starfish limestone; 61 meters at the tertre de Canon
- Grapes
- Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, 80% of the vines at least; Carmenère and Petit Verdot to 10% each
- Density
- 5,000 vines a hectare at least
- Yield
- 53 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 65
- Alcohol
- 11% natural at least; 198 g/l of sugar for Merlot, 180 for the others
- Release
- From June 30 of the year after the harvest
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- July 1, 1939 as Côtes de Canon Fronsac; Canon Fronsac since 1964; cahier of December 10, 2024
Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Canon Fronsac, arrêté du 10 décembre 2024 · FGVB, cahier des charges Canon Fronsac, les modifications de 2024
The stack
The same ground in Canon-Fronsac may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux and Fronsac. 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