Haut-Benauge
1 place name that 2 appellations may add, in the hills of the Entre-deux-Mers around Targon: Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge, a dry white, and Bordeaux Haut-Benauge, a white that may be dry or sweet, from 8 communes.
The place
The Haut-Benauge is hill country in the middle of the Entre-deux-Mers, between the Garonne and the Dordogne, and the name belongs to 8 communes: Escoussans, Gornac, Ladaux, Mourens, Porte-de-Benauge, Saint-Pierre-de-Bat, Soulignac and Targon. Porte-de-Benauge took in Saint-Génis-du-Bois on January 1, 2025; for Bordeaux Haut-Benauge, only the commune as it stood before counts. The ground is clay and limestone. Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge is a tiny wine: no more than 10 growers, on 45 hectares.
The rules
Neither of the 2 is an appellation on its own. Haut-Benauge is a place name added after Entre-deux-Mers or after Bordeaux, and each follows its own cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook), the official rulebook of its appellation. Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge is a dry white of 4 g/l of sugar or less, from Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle, at least 70% of the vines, with Colombard and Ugni Blanc as accessories. It asks 4,500 vines a hectare, grapes at 170 g/l of sugar, 10.5% of natural alcohol and 65 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 75, and the wine stays on its lees until November 15. Bordeaux Haut-Benauge takes only Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle and asks riper grapes, 195 g/l and 11.5% of natural alcohol, 11% in the bottle and no more than 13% after enrichment, at 55 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 60, lower than the Entre-deux-Mers figure; it may be dry, or keep between 5 and 60 g/l of sugar.
The names
No classification. Bordeaux was recognized on November 14, 1936 and the Entre-deux-Mers on July 31, 1937, and in 1955 the name Haut-Benauge was allowed on the wines of the 9 communes these hills then counted. The Entre-deux-Mers rulebook in force was homologated on September 19, 2025 and the Bordeaux rulebook on May 13, 2026.
- Colors
- White: dry as Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge; dry or sweet as Bordeaux Haut-Benauge
- Communes
- Escoussans, Gornac, Ladaux, Mourens, Porte-de-Benauge, Saint-Pierre-de-Bat, Soulignac, Targon
- Vineyard
- 45 hectares and no more than 10 growers for Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge
- Ground
- Clay and limestone
- Grapes
- Sémillon, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Muscadelle; Colombard and Ugni Blanc also for Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge
- Density
- 4,500 vines a hectare for Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge
- Yield
- Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge 65 hectoliters, ceiling 75; Bordeaux Haut-Benauge 55, ceiling 60
- Alcohol
- Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge 10.5% natural; Bordeaux Haut-Benauge 11.5%
- Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- Entre-deux-Mers 1937, Bordeaux 1936; the name Haut-Benauge since 1955
Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Entre-deux-Mers, arrêté du 19 septembre 2025 · FGVB, cahier des charges Bordeaux, arrêté du 13 mai 2026 · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers Haut-Benauge