Blaye () is a

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

region in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

, centred on the town of

Blaye Blaye (; oc, Blaia ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. For centuries, Blaye was a particularly convenient crossing point for those who came from the north and went to Bordea ...

, producing both red and white wine, plus a small amount of rosé and sparkling wine. It is located on the right bank of the River Gironde, and surrounds

Côtes de Bourg Côtes de Bourg is an ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) for Bordeaux wine situated around the small town of Bourg-sur-Gironde near Bordeaux, France. The first vineyards in the area were founded by the Romans. In the Middle Ages, Bourg wa ...

Appellations d'origine contrôlée

A number of different

Appellations d'origine contrôlée An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical b ...

(AOCs) apply, or have previously applied, to Blaye. In 1936, 3 AOCs were created for this region: ''Blaye AOC'', ''Côtes de Blaye AOC'' and ''Premières Côtes de Blaye AOC''. These all covered the same geographical area, with ''Premières Côtes de Blaye'' including the most prestigious properties. These AOCs were revised in the 1990s, and ''Blaye AOC'' was used for the top reds (while still being used for some simple dry whites). In 2007, the AOCs were revised again. ''Blaye AOC'' is now exclusively red, and ''Côtes de Blaye AOC'' is exclusively white. ''Premières Côtes de Blaye'' has been absorbed into Côtes de Bordeaux AOC, which covers both red and white wines, and may have the word ''Blaye'' appended, subject to stricter controls. Rosé wines are not covered by any of these AOCs, and must be sold under a generic Bordeaux appellation.

Geography

The area is hillier than the

Médoc The Médoc (; oc, label= Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the '' département'' of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''( Pagus) Med ...

, rising to a height of over 70m above sea-level. The soil is mostly clay over limestone. The area under vines is around 7000 hectares. A little river, called ''Rau de Brouillon'' separates Blaye from the Bourgeais.

Wines

Red wine is made predominantly from

Merlot Merlot is a dark blue–colored wine grape variety, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of ''merle'', the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to t ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Leban ...

and

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. In addition to being use ...

, with small quantities of

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are n ...

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

and

Carménère The Carménère grape is a wine grape variety originally planted in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, where it was used to produce deep red wines and occasionally used for blending purposes in the same manner as Petit Verdot. A member of ...

. White wine under the label ''Côtes de Blaye'' is made predominantly from

Colombard Colombard (also known as French Colombard in North America) is a white French wine grape variety that is the offspring of Chenin blanc and Gouais blanc.winepros.com.au. This makes the grape the sibling of the Armagnac Meslier-Saint-Françoi ...

and

Ugni blanc Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it ...

, whereas white wine under the label ''Côtes de Bordeaux (Blaye)'' is made predominantly from

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

, Semillon and

Muscadelle Muscadelle is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an unide ...

. The red wines are fresh and fruity, and should be drunk relatively young, while the whites (which are usually dry) are light and softly fruity.Rowe, p104

Châteaux

There is no classification for the châteaux of Blaye, and this is therefore necessarily a somewhat arbitrary list, but the following are considered noteworthy by one or other of the references: Château du Grand Barrail, Château Barbé, Château le Menaudat, Château Segonzac, Château Bourdieu, Château l'Escadre, Château Bel-Air la Royère, Château Bertinerie, Château Haut-Bertinerie, Château Gigault, Château les Jonqueyres, Château Mondésir-Gazin, Château Rolande-la-Garde, Château Crusquet Sabourin, Château Les Moines, Château Gauthier

Notes

References

* * * * {{cite book , last=Rowe , first=David , title=Collins Gem Wine Dictionary , year=1999 , place=Glasgow , publisher=HarperCollins Publishers Bordeaux AOCs