Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion

The place

The commune of Puisseguin took in Monbadon on January 1, 1989, and the appellation stayed where it was: the ground of Puisseguin as it stood before the merger, with Monbadon left outside. Under the vines are the limestone plateau, the Fronsadais molasse and the sands and gravels of the Périgord, carrying thin red soils of clay and limestone and washed-out sandy clay. The landscape is hills where a patchwork of vine plots covers the slopes and the plateau, broken by small woods. In 2009 the appellation covered 740 hectares and made an average of 35,000 hectoliters a year, on holdings of about 7 hectares.

The rules

Red only. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec (Cot in the rules) and Merlot are the principal varieties; Carmenère and Petit Verdot are accessory, to 10% of the vines. At least 5,500 vines a hectare, in rows no more than 2 meters apart. Merlot must be picked at 194 g/l of sugar and the other varieties at 180, and the wine must reach 11% of natural alcohol, at 53 hectoliters a hectare with a ceiling of 65. It is raised until March 31 and sold from April 15 of the year after the harvest. No grower may weed a whole plot chemically, every grower keeps a record of treatments, and every grower must be certified organic or environmental. The cahier des charges (the appellation’s official rulebook) in force, the appellation’s official rulebook, was homologated on July 27, 2023, the same day as those of Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.

The names

Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion is 1 of the 4 satellites, with Lussac, Montagne and Saint-Georges. The tribunal of Libourne kept the name Saint-Émilion for the communes of its old jurisdiction in 1921; on February 19, 1923 the Cour de Bordeaux let Puisseguin use it on the strength of local, loyal and constant custom, provided the name of the commune came with it. The appellation dates from the decree of November 14, 1936. The Saint-Émilion classification does not reach Puisseguin.

Color

Red

Communes

Puisseguin as it stood before it merged with Monbadon on January 1, 1989

Vineyard

740 hectares and 35,000 hectoliters a year in 2009, on holdings of about 7 hectares

Ground

Limestone plateau, Fronsadais molasse, sands and gravels of the Périgord; thin red clay and limestone soils

Grapes

Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot; 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; 194 g/l of sugar for Merlot, 180 for the others

Release

From April 15 of the year after the harvest

Farming

No chemical weeding of a whole plot; organic or environmental certification for every grower

Classified

No classification

AOC since

November 14, 1936; cahier of July 27, 2023

Sources: FGVB, cahier des charges Puisseguin Saint-Emilion, arrêté du 27 juillet 2023 · FGVB, cahiers des charges Saint-Emilion, Saint-Emilion grand cru et Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion