Henri Enjalbert (1910 – June 19, 1983) was a French professor of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, an ...

. He was considered an eminent specialist in

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 ...

geology, whose expert opinion frequently overlapped into the fields of

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

, and wine and ''

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...

'' history, within the Bordeaux region and beyond. Among other credits, he has been called "Bordeaux's most diligent geologist" and "the discoverer of Mas de Daumas Gassac. Among his contentions are that

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

, the Ionian Islands of Greece, and southern

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

in present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

may have been the last European refuge of the

grape vine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

after the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

Publications

Enjalbert's publications range from studies on

Château Latour Château Latour is a French wine estate, rated as a First Growth under the 1855 Bordeaux Classification, owned by Groupe Artemis. Latour lies at the very southeastern tip of the commune of Pauillac in the Médoc region to the north-west of Borde ...

Château Haut-Brion Château Haut-Brion () is a French wine, rated a ''Premier Grand Cru Classé'' (First Great Growth), produced in Pessac just outside the city of Bordeaux. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of ...

and

Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938. In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), i ...

, to book titles such as ''Les Grands Vins de St-Emilion, Pomerol et Fronsac'' (English translation: ''Great Bordeaux Wines''), ''L'Origine de la Qualité'' and ''L'histoire de la vigne & du vin'' ( en, The History of Wine and the Vine) with his son Bernard. The latter book launched a revised perspective on the

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from ...

, and for which he posthumously received the ''Prix littéraire de l'Académie du Vin de Bordeaux'' in 1984.academie.vins-bordeaux.f
Littérature / Prix littéraire

History of Pomerol

While a professor of

at the

, Enjalbert completed his work ''Les Grands Vins de St-Emilion, Pomerol et Fronsac'' which included an extensive historical account of the

Pomerol Pomerol (; oc, Pomairòus) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine near Bordeaux in southwestern France. Wine With only . Pomerol is the smallest wine producing area in the Bordeaux region. It is more a community where th ...

wine region This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant growing regions where vineyards are planted. Wine grapes mostly grow between the 30th and the 50th degree of latitude, in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Grapes will sometimes ...

derived from the

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

s of estate owners as well as official reports and the documentations from

notaries A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

. On item that was noted was the early presence of

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 ...

and

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 ...

in Pomerol in the mid 18th century at Château Trochau (now

Château Haut Tropchaud A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

) when the grapes were known under the

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

s ''Bouchet'' and ''Noir de Pressac'' as well as a ''Cabernet'' vine that may be an early mention of

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 ...

in Bordeaux on the

Right Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

long before it would establish itself in the

Left Bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

estates of 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 ...

and

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

. Enjalbert also discovered that white wine grapes were prevalent throughout the Pomerol region in the mid-18th century but were just then started to be pulled out in favor of red

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Vit ...

. His work also included the early history of the Pomerol estates

Château Pétrus Pétrus is a Bordeaux, France, wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Émilion. A small estate of just , it produces a red wine entirely from Merlot grapes (since the end of 2010), and produces no ...

, Château Trotanoy,

Château La Conseillante Château La Conseillante, previously Château Conseillante and simply La Conseillante, is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the departme ...

, Château Nenin, Vieux Château Certan,

Château Gazin Château Gazin is a Bordeaux wine from the appellation Pomerol. The winery is located on the Right Bank of the Bordeaux wine region, in the commune of Pomerol in the department Gironde. As all wine produced in this appellation, Château Gazin is ...

and Château Beauregard.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 263 Simon and Schuster 1989

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enjalbert, Henri 1910 births 1983 deaths French geographers University of Bordeaux faculty