Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
How to read this
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The French r comes from the back of the throat. The recording is the reference.
A name with 2 lives: for 72 years it covered the wines of the hills on the right bank of the Garonne; since 2009 it belongs to sweet whites alone, with at least 34 g/l of sugar.
The place
The Premières Côtes are a strip of hills along the right bank of the Garonne, 39 communes from Bassens and Lormont on the edge of Bordeaux down to Verdelais and
The rules
White with sugar left in it, and nothing else: at least 34 g/l in the finished wine. Muscadelle, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris and Sémillon, at no less than 4,500 vines a hectare. The grapes are picked at good ripeness, 221 g/l of sugar, and the rules ask for neither noble rot nor successive passes, which makes this the lighter-handed neighbor of
The names
No classification. The appellation was recognized by the decree of July 31, 1937, and for 72 years it covered the reds of these hills as well. The decree of October 29, 2009 sent the reds to the new
- Color
- Sweet white, at least 34 g/l of sugar
- Communes
- 39, from Bassens and Lormont to Verdelais and
Sainte-Croix-du-Mont - Vineyard
- 190 hectares, 60 producers, 7,000 hectoliters (2009)
- Soil
- Limestone, clay and silt, from the foot of the slopes to the plateaus; up to 120 meters
- Grapes
- Muscadelle, Sauvignon, Sauvignon Gris, Sémillon
- Density
- 4,500 vines a hectare at least
- Harvest
- At good ripeness, 221 g/l of sugar
- Yield
- 45 hectoliters a hectare, ceiling 55
- Alcohol
- 13.5% natural at least, sold at 11.5% at least
- Release
- From January 31 of the year after the harvest
- Inside it
Cadillac ,Loupiac andSainte-Croix-du-Mont - Classified
- No classification
- AOC since
- July 31, 1937; sweet white only since 2009; cahier modified on December 29, 2025
Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges
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
In the upper beds of the starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) lie the ribs of a sea cow and the teeth of a large shark. That Oligocene sea floor forms the middle of these slopes, and people went into it: at Latresne, Cénac and Langoiran it was dug with underground quarries, many of them turned into mushroom farms.
In the words of the 1978 Pessac map, the Premières Côtes lie “on slopes facing south and west, with the silty loams at the top and on the plateaus, the gravels, then the limestones showing below.” Deep loams make up nearly half of the vineyard soil on that map. Woods hold the north and east slopes, on acid soil that has crept down from above.
Beneath the limestone runs a thin clay that water cannot pass, and a line of springs marks it along the hillsides; at Courcouyac, near Langoiran, one rises at the foot of the limestone cliff. Down by the Garonne, marsh clays (palus) fill the riverside, and their upper layers keep the first traces of Neolithic and metal-age people. The water finds the clay, and the springs draw the line.
- Slope wash and cover29.0%
- River and estuary deposits of today1.0%
- Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles23.2%
- Landes sand and the oldest river deposits18.9%
- Shell sands (faluns), limestones and marls of the Miocene0.4%
- Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone12.1%
- Starfish limestone and marine marls13.3%
- Lake limestones and clays0.3%
- Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes1.7%
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 70 m, and 9 tenths lies between 24 and 105 m. 40.1% of it is steeper than 10%.
The same delimited soil as
Measured section
The line runs 6.9 km, from -1 m to 99 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 47 and 107 m.
Colors: Slope wash and coverRiver and estuary deposits of todayIce age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebblesLandes sand and the oldest river depositsAgenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestoneStarfish limestone and marine marls
The units, as BRGM prints them
| Code | Name and age, as printed | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Slope wash and cover | 29.0% | |
| CFp | Formations superficielles | 28.2% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.8% in all | ||
| River and estuary deposits of today | 1.0% | |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 1.0% in all | ||
| Ice age river terraces: sand, gravel, pebbles | 23.2% | |
| Fxb(a) | Basse terrasses - Terrasse de Bègle (type 6) indifférenciée, Saalien - "Riss" | 1.8% |
| Fwb(D) | Moyennes terrasses - Terrasses du Malleret sup. indifférencié (type 3 à 5), Esltérien - "Mindel" | 1.2% |
| Fva(D) | Très hautes terrasses (RD Garonne) - Terrasse d'Artigues (type 1) indiférenciée, Waal - "Donau-Gunz" | 4.2% |
| Fu | Très hautes terrasses (RD Garonne) - Terrasse de Cénac, Eburonien - Donau | 16.0% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.0% in all | ||
| Landes sand and the oldest river deposits | 18.9% | |
| Ft(Sa) | Fmt de Sadirac, Tiglien - "Biber-Donau" | 18.9% |
| Shell sands (faluns), limestones and marls of the Miocene | 0.4% | |
| and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.4% in all | ||
| Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone | 12.1% | |
| g2-A | Molasse de l'Agenais sup. à faciès argileux dominant, Chattien continental | 2.6% |
| g1-A | Molasse de l'Agenais inf. à facies argileux dominant, Rupélien continental | 9.5% |
| Starfish limestone and marine marls | 13.3% | |
| g1-As | Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin | 13.3% |
| Lake limestones and clays | 0.3% | |
| and 2 more units under 1% each, 0.3% in all | ||
| Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes | 1.7% | |
| e7-g1-S | Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies sableux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental | 1.7% |
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 Pessac à 1/50 000, 1978; INAO parcel delimitation (file of 2026-10-12) laid over BRGM BD Charm-50 Gironde, harmonized geological map.
See it on the Map · Compare it with another appellation · All about Terroir
News from Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
5
-
Bordeaux joins a European organic wine campaign
According to EIN Presswire,
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux etCadillac and Abruzzo have launched EU-thentic Organic Wines to promote organic wine and the European Union organic logo.The partnership gives participating Bordeaux producers a shared European platform for communicating organic certification to consumers.
-
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux seeks a 3-colour futurePremières Côtes de Bordeaux has applied to INAO to expand beyond sweet white wine and authorize a broader range of styles under its name.Approval could give growers greater commercial flexibility while reconnecting the appellation name with the full potential of its terroir. The decision will test how far Bordeaux’s regulatory structure can adapt to changing demand.
-
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux open days: around thirty châteaux open to the publicSud Ouest previews the 31st open-house weekend in the
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux , with around 30 châteaux welcoming the public on June 6 to 7. The program includes tastings, visits, vineyard activities and meetings with growers across several communes. -
THE EU FAB 6 CLOSES A SUCCESSFUL EDITION OF LONDON WINE FAIR 2026
The EU FAB 6 showcased PDO wines from
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux andCadillac during the 3-day London Wine Fair 2026. -
THE EU FAB 6 BRINGS ABRUZZO AND PREMIÈRES CÔTES DE BORDEAUX AND CADILLAC PDO WINES TO UK WINE BARS
The EU Fab 6 is bringing Abruzzo and
Premières Côtes de Bordeaux andCadillac PDO wines to UK wine bars through a series of tastings and masterclasses taking place across the United Kingdom.