Montagne-Saint-Émilion

mohn-TAHNY san tay-mee-LYOHN

How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. “ohn” and “an” are nasal vowels: say them through the nose, with no n. “ny” is the ny in “canyon”. The recording is the reference.

Red only from the commune of Montagne, north of Saint-Émilion, on sand and clay slopes around a starfish limestone plateau: one of the 4 satellites that carry the name, and outside the reach of its classification.

The place

The appellation is the commune of Montagne, in the Gironde, and no other; 23 neighboring communes make up the area of immediate proximity, where the wine may be made and raised but not grown. The soil is of 3 kinds: hillsides of clay and limestone over starfish limestone, on 25% of the area; sandy silty and sandy clayey soils on molasse, the sands and clays of old rivers and lakes, on 52%; and a few patches of the sandy gravel terraces of the Isle, under 4%. The village of Parsac was taken into the commune of Montagne. The vineyard covers 1,793 hectares and makes an average of 80,000 hectoliters a year, on holdings of about 7 hectares.

The rules

Red only. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot are the principal varieties and together must make at least 70% of the blend; Carmenère and Petit Verdot are accessory, to 10%. At least 5,500 vines a hectare, rows of no more than 2 meters, vines no closer than 1 meter in the row, or 0.80 under the short pruning provisions. Fifty-three hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 65, and 11% of natural alcohol. The wine is raised until March 15 and sold from March 31 of the year after the harvest. The cahier des charges, the appellation’s official rulebook, was last modified on April 10, 2019.

The names

Montagne-Saint-Émilion is one of the 4 satellite appellations entitled to put Saint-Émilion after their own name, with Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion and Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion. What the name does not carry is the classification: the Premiers Grands Crus Classés and the Grands Crus Classés belong to the appellation Saint-Émilion Grand Cru alone, and no growth of a satellite has ever been on that list. The appellation dates from the decree of November 14, 1936, the same day the appellation Bordeaux was recognized.

Color: Red
Communes: Montagne, and no other; 23 more make up the area of immediate proximity
Vineyard: 1,793 hectares, 80,000 hectoliters a year, holdings of about 7 hectares
Soil: Molasse sands and clays (52%); clay and limestone hillsides over starfish limestone (25%); a little Isle terrace gravel (under 4%)
Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, at least 70% together; Carmenère and Petit Verdot to 10%
Density: 5,500 vines a hectare at least
Yield: 53 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 65
Alcohol: 11% natural at least
Release: From March 31 of the year after the harvest
Classified: No classification
The satellites: Montagne, Lussac, Puisseguin and Saint-Georges, the 4 appellations entitled to add Saint-Émilion to their name
AOC since: November 14, 1936; cahier modified on April 10, 2019

Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Montagne-Saint-Émilion, arrêté du 10 avril 2019 · Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux, Montagne-Saint-Émilion

The stack

The same land in Montagne-Saint-Émilion may also be labeled Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Crémant de Bordeaux, Pomerol and Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion. 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

The pyramid of names shows what each step promises: vines a hectare, bottles, ripeness, day of sale, grapes. Climb from here

Terroir

A plateau has edges, and Montagne is mostly edge. The starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) shows in several outcrops across the commune, and where the plateau drops away the slopes open onto the sands and clays of old rivers and lakes (molasse). Molasse lies under 52.1% of the delimited area, the limestone under 24.9%.

On the limestone the soils are thinner and drain better. In the middle of the plateau they run deep and have lost their lime, but where hard rock lies within 1 meter of the surface, plowing has brought the lime back into them. From the Isle up toward the hills of Montagne the soil tends to grow finer, and the belt where the river’s alluvium meets the plateau tends to be waterlogged.

Neanderthal-era toolmakers left their tools on the heights above the Isle valley, in Montagne among other places. Underground quarries took the plateau’s stone for building. In Montagne, the plow has given the lime back to the soil.

2,375 ha delimited

Slope wash and cover11.0%
River and estuary deposits of today0.9%
Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles3.6%
Starfish limestone and marine marls24.9%
Lake limestones and clays7.5%
Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes52.1%

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 53 m, and 9 tenths lies between 33 and 82 m. 13.2% of it is steeper than 10%.

Measured section

The line runs 7.1 km, from 18 m to 72 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 23 and 88 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

Measured section: one elevation every 10 meters, west to east, along the whole of a 7.1 km line set across the appellation by a fixed rule, not chosen for the view (IGN, RGE ALTI 5 m), with the geology at the surface (BRGM, BD Charm-50). Heights stretched 20 times. The layers below the surface are not drawn.

The units, as BRGM prints them

Code	Name and age, as printed	Share
Slope wash and cover		11.0%
CFp	Formations superficielles	1.4%
CF	Formations superficielles	9.6%
River and estuary deposits of today		0.9%
	and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.9% in all
Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles		3.6%
Fvb(D)	Hautes terrasses (RD Garonne) - Terrasse de Malleret inf. (type 2) indiférenciée, Ménapien-Bavélien - "Gunz"	3.6%
Starfish limestone and marine marls		24.9%
g1-As	Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin	24.9%
Lake limestones and clays		7.5%
g1-Cc	Formation du Calcaire de Castillon s.s., Rupélien basal continental	7.5%
Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes		52.1%
e7	Formation Boisbreteau inf., Priabonien sup. continental	3.8%
e7-g1-A	Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies argileux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental	17.6%
e7-g1-S	Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies sableux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental	28.5%
e6-7	Argiles à Paléotherium, Bartonien sup. à Priabonien inf. continental	2.2%
	and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.0% 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; Van Leeuwen, Baudet, Duteau, Seguin, Wilbert, Les sols viticoles et leur répartition a Saint-Emilion, Pomerol et quelques autres communes du Libournais, Connaissance de la Vigne et du Vin 23(3), 1989; INAO parcel delimitation (file of 2026-10-12) laid over BRGM BD Charm-50 Gironde, harmonized geological map.

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Châteaux on this site

Also in this appellation, with no page here yet: Château Roc de Calon.

News from Montagne-Saint-Émilion

Jun 29, 2026

Laydis vineyards turn to crowdfunding

Thomas and Élodie Laydis have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Ulule to turn their family estate, Château Roc de Calon, into an wine-tourism destination. Based in Montagne-Saint-Émilion, the move is presented as a diversification strategy in response to the wine sector crisis.

Source: terredevins.com Château Roc de Calon Montagne-Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion The Crisis Estates and People