Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
in southwestern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
Garonne
The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ;
or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...
estuary, northwest of the city of
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
.
Population
Wines
Margaux is the name of the wine appellation d'origine, Margaux AOC, that encompasses the village and the neighbouring villages of Arsac, Labarde, Soussans and Cantenac, and is the most southerly of Médoc's appellations. The commune makes almost entirely red wine.
The 1855 classification contained more wines from Margaux than from any other appellation, and its best-known vineyard, Château Margaux, was one of only four wines to be awarded the
Premier Cru
Cru is a wine Glossary of wine terms, term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French language, French word which was originally used to refer to both a region and anything grown in it, but is now mostly used t ...
status.
Cultural references
The singer-songwriter and oenologist
Al Stewart
Alastair Ian Stewart (born 5 September 1945) is a British singer-songwriter and folk-rock musician who rose to prominence as part of the British folk revival in the 1960s and 1970s. He developed a unique style of combining folk-rock songs wi ...
released an album of songs involving wine in 2000 called '' Down in the Cellar'', of which one track is entitled "Waiting for Margaux."
In the movie Withnail & I, the character Uncle Monty brings a bottle of '53 Margaux ("best of the century") to the cottage in the country.
In the 2009 movie ''Sherlock Holmes'',
Holmes
Holmes may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective
* Holmes (given name), a list of people
* Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...
(
Robert Downey Jr.
Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965), also known as RDJ, is an American actor. One of the highest-grossing actors of all time, his films as a leading actor have grossed over $14 billion worldwide. In 2008, Downey was named by ''Time ...
) refers to a Margaux 1858 and expresses fascination that an astronomical event can affect the quality of the harvest, referring to the 1858 Margaux being a comet vintage.
In the Masterpiece Series TV show Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 9, A conversation between Carson and Mrs. Hughes... Carson states "They didn't finish this and they are away tomorrow, so I thought we might. It's favorite of mine." "You won't go far wrong with a Margaux" as he pours from a decanter left over from upstairs.
In 'The Final Gambit' by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Marguax is mentioned when Avery finds a photograph of three women in the pool as a clue left by Tobias Hawthorne.
See also
*
French wine
French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...
*
Bordeaux wine
Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...
Bordeaux wine regions
The wine regions of Bordeaux in France are a large number of wine growing areas, differing widely in size and sometimes overlapping, which lie within the overarching wine region of Bordeaux, centred on the city of Bordeaux and covering the whole ...