Appellation
Fronsac
Identity card
VillageAOPRed
Bordeaux › Libournais · Recognised on 4 March 1937
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Red only, from six communes and a few plots in Galgon.
- "Côtes de Fronsac" in 1937, "Fronsac" since 1976.
- Merlot leads, on the clay-limestone slopes.
Grape varieties
Red wine onlyMerlotCabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonCot
Accessory varieties: Petit Verdot (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot · at least 80% of the holding's vines
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot · at least 50% of the blend
Also accessory: Carmenère, 10% of the vines at most
Production rules
53
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
5,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 1 June after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 67 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 12.5 % ABV across 63 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 75 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Slopes and knolls; the Tertre de Fronsac rises to 76 m
- Soils: Fronsadais molasse; starfish-limestone plateau
- Water: Where the Isle meets the Dordogne
Wine style
- deep colour
- red fruit, truffle
- robust yet elegant
- able to age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
10 December 2024
Arrêté du 10 décembre 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Fronsac » (NOR AGRT2425031A, JORF n°0293 du 12 décembre 2024, texte n°36), publié au BO-Agri du 19 décembre 2024. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 4 mars 1937 sous le nom « Côtes de Fronsac », puis sous le nom « Fronsac » par le décret du 21 septembre 1976.
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Fronsac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
West of Libourne, where the Isle meets the Dordogne, Fronsac covers six communes and a few plots of Galgon, on a landscape of slopes and rocky promontories, the "tertres", the highest of which, the Tertre de Fronsac, rises to 76 metres. Recognised in 1937 as "Côtes de Fronsac", its wines have carried the name Fronsac since 1976. Only the limestone plateaus and molasse slopes are delimited, the low alluvial land along both rivers being excluded; the appellation makes red wine only, led by Merlot. Its neighbour Canon-Fronsac is a separate appellation.
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Fronsac
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