The Médoc (; oc, label=
Gascon, Medòc ) is a region of
France, well known as a
wine growing region, located in the ''
département'' of
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
, on the left bank of the
Gironde estuary
The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; french: estuaire de la Gironde, ; oc, estuari de aGironda, ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Gar ...
, north of
Bordeaux. Its name comes from ''(
Pagus) Medullicus'', or "country of the ''
Medulli''", the local
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
ic tribe. The region owes its economic success mainly to the production of red wine; it is home to around 1,500
vineyards.
The area also has pine forests and long sandy beaches. The Médoc's geography is not ideal for wine growing, with its proximity to the
Atlantic Ocean resulting in a comparatively mild climate and high rainfall making grape rot a constant problem. It is generally believed that the nature of the region's wine derives from the soil; although the terrain is flat, excellent drainage is a necessity and the increased amount of gravel in the soil allows heat to be retained, encouraging ripening, and extensive root systems.
Viticulture
With the exception of
Château Haut-Brion from
Graves, all of the red wines in the
1855 Classification
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 fr ...
are from the Médoc. Many of the Médoc wines that are not in this classification were classified using the
Cru Bourgeois
The Cru Bourgeois classification lists some of the châteaux from the Médoc that were not included in the 1855 Classification of ''Crus Classés'', or Classed Growths. Notionally, ''Cru Bourgeois'' is a level below ''Cru Classé'', but still of ...
system until 2007. Following legal challenges this category was abolished, and reintroduced in 2010 as an annual "mark of quality" depending on independent annual assessment.
See also
*
Bordeaux wine regions
External links
Médoc The Wine DoctorVisit MédocAbout MédocFrench-English guide book to enotourism in Médoc
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medoc
Geography of Gironde
Nouvelle-Aquitaine region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia