Blayais (Blaye) AOC

The appellation named after the town of Blaye (also known as Blayais) in the Bordeaux region is located on the right bank of the Gironde estuary opposite the Médoc. Viticulture here can be traced back to Roman times. The area is also famous for the Par-Non-Pair caves with their prehistoric rock paintings, which are considered just as important as those at Lascaux (in south-west France). The vineyards cover around 6,500 hectares of vines on mainly clay-limestone and clay-gravel soils with ferruginous sandstone in the subsoil.

Côtes de Bordeaux

In 2009, the umbrella appellation Côtes de Bordeaux was created. The red wines are now produced under the AOC Blaye - Côtes de Bordeaux from the varieties Merlot (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Cabernet Franc and Malbec (Cot), as well as small quantities of the autochthonous Béquignol Noir and Prolongeau (Bouchalès).

The Premières Côtes de Blaye appellation applied to red wines with a higher alcohol content until the 2008 vintage, but was abandoned in 2009 in favour of Blaye - Côtes de Bordeaux.

White wines

The most important varieties are Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Colombard and Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano Toscano). The AOC Blaye (also Blayais) applied to simpler red and white wines until the 2008 vintage. It now only applies to white wines. The AOC Côtes de Blaye applies to better quality white wines (compared to the simple ones under Blaye).

Well-known producers in this appellation include Château Barbé, Château les Bertrands, Château Bourdieu, Château la Carelle, Château de Castets, Château Charron, Château Crusquet-de-Lagarcie, Château l'Escadre, Château du Grand-Pierre, Château Haut Bertinerie, Château Lacaussade St-Martin, Château Maine-Gazin, Château Marinier, Château Menaudat, Château les Moines, Château Peyredoulle, Château Peyreyre and Château Segonzac.

Map: By Domenico-de-ga from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Modifications from the original by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer 2017