Alsace
Armagnac
Bergerac

Grapes & Wine of the BERGERAC Region of France

The development of the Les Vins de Bergerac Wines

Bergerac as a wine region has for ages lingered in the shadow of its neighbour, Bordeaux, and yet it has much to offer lovers of good wine. It has a similar “terrior” as Bordeaux hence they grow and use much the same grape varieties. The reds are made from merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. While the dry whites use mainly Sauvignon Blanc, plus some Semillon and Muscadelle, and he famous semi-sweet and sweet dessert wines are from mainly Semillon plus Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and some Chenin Blanc.

Modern Bergerac vineyards claim uncompromising attention to detail, perfect knowledge of their terroir and an innovative approach to wine-making combined with a special passion for every aspect of the process. All of this offers a guarantee of the quality of Bergerac wines.

Principal Grape Varieties

Merlot	Cabernet Sauvignon	Cabernet Franc	Malbec
Semillon	Sauvignon Blanc	Muscadelle	Chenin Blanc

FACTS ON GRAPE GROWING & WINE-MAKING in BERGERAC

Size of the vineyards: 12,220 hectares

Production volume: 165,000 hectolitres

Vineyards:1240 winegrowers - 45% independent winegrowers, 55% cooperative winegrowers with 8 cooperative units including 2 cooperative organisations, 33% of production potential

Soil: Mainly limestone, Clayey limestone, sandstone and clay.

Weather: Bordeaux like, but milder with abundant sunshine and less Atlantic influence.

Bergerac Appellations
Through the differentiation of its terroirs and the wishes of its growers to advance the appellation’s requirements, the Bergerac wine region can now offer precise segmentation of its 13 appellations.

The regional appellations: red Bergerac, dry Bergerac, white Côtes de Bergerac and Bergerac rosé, representing the heart of the market,

The terroir appellations: the dessert wines of Monbazillac and Saussignac, the great red wines of Côtes de Bergerac, Montravel and Pécharmant, Montravel and the great Bergeracs for the dry wines; and lastly, Côtes de Montravel, Haut-Montravel and Rosette for the sweet wines.

WINES OF BERGERAC

The seven regional terrior appellations give an insight into the extent of the Bergerac wines.

Pecharmant (red wine) A special blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec that reflect a unique terrior—elegant and age well.

Rosette (semi-sweet wines)

A straw-coloured blend of three grapes—Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle resulting in a rounded elegant wine.

Montravel (red, dry white, & semi-sweet wines)

Production is divided between the red grapes of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Malbec; and the white grapes of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle.

Bergerac (red, rose and dry white wines)

Fruity elegant red and rose wines from a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Dry white aromatic wines from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle produced in a range from fruity to fuller rounded styles.

Cote de Bergerac (red and semi-sweet wines)

Red wines are made from a traditional blend resulting in big powerful wines with good cellaring potential. While the semi-sweet whites from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, are best drunk young when full of fresh flavour.

Saussignac (red and semi-sweet wines) Reds from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc produce an easy to drink pleasant style, but the claim to fame are the semi-sweet wines blended from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Ondenc and Muscadelle and subjected to botrytis (noble rot) that gives an intense, complex taste.

Monbazillac (sweet wines)

Blended from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle with only grapes effected by ‘noble rot’ these are elegant, powerful wines with a powerful bouqet of honey, accia and peach.