Fronsac
How to read this
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. “ohn” is a nasal vowel: say it through the nose, with no n. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.
Red only, on the molasse slopes and limestone plateau west of Libourne where Charlemagne kept a fortress: 800 hectares and 100 growers, with Canon
The place
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 in force, the appellation’s official rulebook, was homologated on December 10, 2024. Canon
The names
No classification.
- 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 , onFronsac 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,
The stack
The same land in
It shares named communes with
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
On the hill called the Tertre de
Climb, and the water changes. Near the old tile works at the foot of the hill the Palaeotherium clays crop out, holding a few remains of paleotheres, extinct horse-like mammals. The summit stands more than 70 m above the young alluvium of the valley, and up there lie limy clays and shell sands (faluns) of the sea, Oligocene in age. Toward Villegouge the starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) runs as a plateau just below the surface, under a cover of silty clay, and it takes 37.4% of the delimited area.
People have long held this soil. The castle on the Tertre was the seat of the lords of
- Slope wash and cover10.8%
- River and estuary deposits of today1.4%
- Starfish limestone and marine marls37.4%
- Lake limestones and clays12.2%
- Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes38.1%
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 43 m, and 9 tenths lies between 12 and 79 m. 35.2% of it is steeper than 10%.
Measured section
The line runs 4.7 km, from 6 m to -1 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 7 and 78 m.
Colors: Slope wash and coverRiver and estuary deposits of todayStarfish limestone and marine marlsLake limestones and claysMolasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes
The units, as BRGM prints them
| Code | Name and age, as printed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Slope wash and cover | 10.8% | |
| CF | Formations superficielles | 10.8% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.1% in all | ||
| River and estuary deposits of today | 1.4% | |
| Fy3-z | Alluvions subactuelles à actuelles indiféernéciées (sic), Pré-boréal à actuel | 1.4% |
| Starfish limestone and marine marls | 37.4% | |
| g1-As | Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin | 37.4% |
| Lake limestones and clays | 12.2% | |
| g1-Cc | Formation du Calcaire de Castillon s.s., Rupélien basal continental | 12.2% |
| Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes | 38.1% | |
| g1a | Formation de Boisbreteau moy. et formation de la Garde, Rupélien inf. continental | 1.1% |
| e7-g1-S | Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies sableux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental | 18.4% |
| e7c-A | Molasses du Fronsadais inf. à moy. (facies argileux dominant), Priabonien sup. continental | 12.5% |
| e6-7 | Argiles à Paléotherium, Bartonien sup. à Priabonien inf. continental | 5.6% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.7% in all | ||
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 Libourne à 1/50 000, 1995; INAO parcel delimitation (file of 2026-10-12) laid over BRGM BD Charm-50 Gironde, harmonized geological map.
Its soil, layer by layer · See it in 3D · See it on the Map · Compare it with another appellation · All about Terroir
Châteaux on this site
Tastings
1
News from Fronsac
3
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Ten generations at Château Mazeris
Jean de Cournuaud represents the 10th generation at Château Mazeris, a property founded in 1769 in Saint-Michel-de-
Fronsac that produces CanonFronsac . The estate covers 23 hectares, including 15 hectares of producing vines.The estate offers a view of continuity and adaptation in the Fronsadais, where long family histories must coexist with changing market expectations.
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Fronsac and CanonFronsac focus on consumersWinegrowers in
Fronsac and CanonFronsac will open 32 properties to visitors on October 24 and 25. Appellation president Damien Landouar said the priority is to address consumers directly.The open-house weekend gives both appellations a direct channel for explaining their wines and building consumer relationships.
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Château de La Rivière : betting on living heritage to write a new chapterChâteau de La Rivière inFronsac unveiled a strategy centered on heritage, wine and wine tourism one year after its acquisition by GFI, the investment fund managed by Signet.