Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion
How to read this
Capitals mark the stressed syllable. “ohn” and “an” are nasal vowels: say them through the nose, with no n. The recording is the reference.
Red only from the old commune of Puisseguin, northeast of
The place
The commune of Puisseguin took in Monbadon on January 1, 1989, and the appellation stayed where it was: the land of Puisseguin as it stood before the merger, with Monbadon left outside. Under the vines are the limestone plateau, on 52% of the area, and the Fronsadais molasse, sands and clays of old rivers and lakes, on 34%; the limestone carries thin, well-drained brown soils of clay and limestone. 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 in force, the appellation’s official rulebook, was homologated on July 27, 2023, the same day as those of
The names
- 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
- Soil
- Limestone plateau (52%), Fronsadais molasse (34%); thin brown 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
The stack
The same land in
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
Far below Puisseguin, boreholes pass through sands of the early Eocene that pile up to 150 m thick around the commune, in the middle of the Libourne map. Lower down, the buried top of the far older Cretaceous rock carries a broad trough that runs from around Bergerac in the east and opens near Puisseguin.
Above all that lies the lid. The starfish limestone (calcaire à astéries) covers 51.9% of the delimited area, more than half, on the limestone plateau that carries both names,
The soils on it are thinner and drain better. Underground quarries in the commune took its stone out for building. Many vines here grow on the lid of something deep.
- Slope wash and cover7.9%
- River and estuary deposits of today0.4%
- Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone1.6%
- Starfish limestone and marine marls51.9%
- Lake limestones and clays4.1%
- Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes34.1%
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 74 m, and 9 tenths lies between 53 and 98 m. 21.4% of it is steeper than 10%.
Measured section
The line runs 4.3 km, from 74 m to 39 m. Inside the delimited area it lies between 41 and 98 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 | 7.9% | |
| CF | Formations superficielles | 7.9% |
| River and estuary deposits of today | 0.4% | |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.4% in all | ||
| Agenais molasses: clays and sands above the limestone | 1.6% | |
| g2-A | Molasse de l'Agenais sup. à faciès argileux dominant, Chattien continental | 1.6% |
| Starfish limestone and marine marls | 51.9% | |
| g1-As | Calcaire à Astéries, Rupélien marin | 51.9% |
| Lake limestones and clays | 4.1% | |
| g1-Cc | Formation du Calcaire de Castillon s.s., Rupélien basal continental | 4.1% |
| Molasses: sands and clays of old rivers and lakes | 34.1% | |
| e7-g1-A | Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies argileux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental | 23.4% |
| e7-g1-S | Molasse du Fronsadais sup. à facies sableux dominant, Priabonien sup. à Rupélien basal continental | 10.6% |
| and 1 more unit under 1% each, 0.1% 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.
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