Fronsac
Red only, on the molasse slopes and limestone plateau west of Libourne where Charlemagne kept a fortress: 800 hectares and 100 growers, with Canon Fronsac inside it on 2 communes.
The place
Fronsac rises above the Dordogne west of Libourne, on slopes of Fronsadais molasse, coarse sands named after the place, and on a plateau of the same starfish limestone as Saint-Émilion. The area is Fronsac, La Rivière, Saillans, Saint-Aignan, Saint-Germain-de-la-Rivière and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, with named parcels of Galgon. About 800 hectares and 100 growers, on family estates of some 6 hectares, make about 40,000 hectoliters a year. Charlemagne’s fortress stood here around 770, and Cardinal Richelieu bought the land of Fronsac in 1633.
The rules
Red only, from Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec as principal varieties, at least half of every blend, with Carmenère and Petit Verdot as accessory, at 5,000 vines a hectare, 53 hectoliters with a ceiling of 65 and 11% of natural alcohol; the wine is raised until June 1 and sold from June 30 of the year after the harvest. The cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook) in force, the appellation’s official rulebook, was homologated on December 10, 2024. Canon Fronsac, recognized in 1939 as Côtes de Canon Fronsac and renamed in 1964, covers Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac only, some 50 family estates on 270 hectares.
The names
No classification. Fronsac was recognized in 1937 as Côtes de Fronsac and took its present name in 1976.
- Color
- Red
- Communes
- Fronsac, La Rivière, Saillans, Saint-Aignan, Saint-Germain-de-la-Rivière, Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, parcels of Galgon
- Vineyard
- About 800 hectares, 100 growers
- Grapes
- Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, half of every blend at least; Carmenère, Petit Verdot
- Density
- 5,000 vines a hectare at least
- Yield
- 53 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 65
- Alcohol
- 11% natural at least
- Release
- From June 30 of the year after the harvest
- Inside it
- Canon Fronsac, on Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- 1937 as Côtes de Fronsac; Fronsac since 1976; cahier of December 10, 2024
Sources: INAO and the Fédération des Grands Vins de Bordeaux, cahiers des charges · INAO, Fronsac · INAO, Canon Fronsac · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux · Syndicat Viticole de Fronsac · Syndicat Viticole de Fronsac · INAO and the BO-AGRI, cahiers des charges
The stack
The same ground in Fronsac 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 Canon-Fronsac.
The appellations of Bordeaux are stacked, not laid side by side. The map draws the whole stack. Open the map
Châteaux on this site
Tastings
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News from Fronsac
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Château de La Rivière: betting on living heritage to write a new chapter
Château de La Rivière in Fronsac unveiled a strategy centered on heritage, wine and wine tourism one year after its acquisition by GFI, the investment fund managed by Signet.