An appellation for wine in the area known as the right bank of the Bordeaux region, Côtes de Bourg’s four-thousand hectares of vine are dominated by dark skinned grapes. Red wines here are generally rounded, fruit driven and based around the Merlot grape, whilst the small amount of whites produced comprise mostly of a typical Bordeaux blend.
The beautiful town of Bourg, at the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers, gives its name to this appellation - one of the region’s oldest. Established in 1920, with decrees confirming its AOC status signed in 1936 (for red wines) and 1945 (white wines), Côtes de Bourg enjoys a favourable microclimate and a varied soil composition of sand, clay, limestone and gravel. On account of its unique topography - atypically hilly for the Bordeaux region - the area is sometimes referred to as ‘Little Switzerland’. The Merlot variety is the appellation’s principal red grape, accounting for 65% of all plantings. This is followed by Cabernet Sauvignon with 20%, Malbec with 10% (its largest share of any Bordeaux AOC) and Cabernet Franc with 5%. Of the tiny fraction of vineyard dedicated to white varieties, Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Sauvignon Gris share the vine, with the former three grapes accounting for more than 85% of the approximately thirty hectares. The vast majority of the wine produced within the Côtes de Bourg appellation - which totals around 180,000 hectolitres of red and 1,200 hectolitres of white - is sold within the national boundary although exports are continually rising as wine-makers increase their commercial focus in order to compete with the prestigious neighbouring appellations. The red wines here - increasingly of a softer, more approachable style - are both good quality and good value. Many are intended to be drank within a year or two of vintage, whilst others demonstrate the potential to age in the bottle for up to a decade.
