Appellation
Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Identity card
VillageAOPRedRosé
Loire Valley › Touraine · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- At most 58 hl/ha, at least 10.5% natural alcohol.
- A single commune, at the north-western tip of Touraine.
- Reds: grapes destemmed, except for carbonic maceration.
Grape varieties
RedRosé
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Cabernet Franc makes up most of any blend; never Cabernet Sauvignon alone
Production rules
58
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,500
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Reds: at least until 14 December of the harvest year
- 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 93 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 13 % ABV across 90 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 96 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: Old Loire terrace and foot of slope, south-facing
- Soils: Free-draining sand and gravel; tuffeau at the slope's foot
- Climate: Oceanic, warmer and drier than the rest of the region
Wine style
- Red
- ruby to garnet
- red and black fruit
- elegant and supple
- some worth keeping
- Rosé
- red and white fruit
- fresh, fairly intense
- sometimes citrus
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
26 November 2025
Order of 26 November 2025 approving the specification of the AOC “Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil” (AGRT2524358A), JORF no. 0280 of 29 November 2025, text no. 39 (BO of 11 December 2025). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 31 July 1937.
Labelling terms
- The geographical name "Vin de Loire" may be added
- The name of a registered lieu-dit may appear on the label
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
At the north-western tip of the Touraine vineyard, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil covers a single commune of Indre-et-Loire. Recognised in 1937, the appellation makes still reds and rosés from Cabernet Franc, known locally as "breton", with no more than 10% Cabernet Sauvignon in the vineyard. Most of the vines grow down in the valley, on an old alluvial terrace whose sandy, gravelly soils drain freely; the rest lie at the foot of the slope.
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