Appellation
Bergerac
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedWhiteRosé
South West France · Recognised on 11 September 1936
Key points
- Every wine blends at least two principal grapes (50% or more).
- Reds: at most 60 hl/ha and at least 11% natural alcohol.
- Dry reds and whites; rosés dry or off-dry (10 g/l at most).
Grape varieties
Red
MerlotCabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonCot
Accessory varieties: Fer Servadou
Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cot · at least 75% of the holding's vines
Also accessory: Mérille (locally "périgord")
Rosé
MerlotCabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonCot
Accessory varieties: Fer Servadou, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle
Muscadelle · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Also accessory: Mérille, Sauvignon Gris; 20% at most in all
Sauvignons: 10% at most; black and white blended only as grapes or musts
White
SémillonSauvignon BlancMuscadelle
Accessory varieties: Chenin Blanc, Ondenc (20% at most of the holding's vines)
Also principal: Sauvignon Gris; principal grapes at least 75% of the vines
Ugni Blanc: no more vines than the two Sauvignons together
Production rules
60
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
- 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 129 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 14 % ABV across 79 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Slopes on both sides of the Dordogne valley
- Soils: Limestone, boulbènes, clay-gravel terraces
- Climate: Tempered oceanic: warmer summers, colder winters
Wine style
- Red
- fruity
- sometimes richly tannic
- a little austere when young
- improve with age
- White
- floral and fruity
- some acidity
- can be drunk young
- Rosé
- from gris to clairet
- dry or off-dry
- freshness
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
25 August 2021
Arrêté du 25 août 2021 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bergerac » (JORF n°0204 du 2 septembre 2021, texte n°45 ; BO n°36 du 2 septembre 2021). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 11 septembre 1936.
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Bergerac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Monbazillac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
The general appellation of the Bergerac vineyards in the Dordogne, on the slopes on either side of the Dordogne. It covers still red, rosé and dry white wines, always blended from at least two principal varieties: Merlot, the Cabernets and Côt for the reds, Sémillon, Sauvignon and Muscadelle for the whites. The area's sweet wines belong to other appellations such as Monbazillac, and Côtes de Bergerac is a separate AOC.
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Bergerac
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