Médoc
Region in Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
The Médoc (French pronunciation: [meˈdɔk] ⓘ; Gascon: Medòc [meˈðɔk]) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, northwest of Bordeaux. The region owes its economic success mainly to the production of red wine; it is home to around 1,500 vineyards.
01Name
Its name comes from pagus Medullicus ('country of the Medulli', the ancient Celtic tribe that occupied this region).
02Geography
The area also has pine forests and long sandy beaches. The Médoc's geography is not ideal for wine grape 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 present and the increased amount of gravel in the soil allows heat to be retained, encouraging ripening, and extensive root systems.
03Viticulture
With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, all of the red wines in the 1855 Classification are from the Médoc. Many of the Médoc wines that are not in this classification were classified using the Cru Bourgeois 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.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Médoc”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- GirondePays.png by Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Plan du Médoc, dédié et présenté à Monseigneur Charles Obrien, comte de Thomond, vicomte de Clare, pair d'Irlande, chevalier des ordres du Roy, maréchal de France, gouverneur de la ville de Neuf-Brisack et... - btv1b53258187w.jpg by Duclercq, J.. Auteur du texte, Public domain
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