We already wrote last year (2022) that it might soon be possible to make white appellation wine in the Médoc, which is currently not allowed. The white wine made on the Médoc peninsula today can only be called AOP Bordeaux.
The appellations Médoc, Haut-Médoc and Listrac-Médoc have now agreed on a proposal for the integration of white wines in the three appellations, and this will be presented to INAO, l’Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité, which will take the final decision.
One additional interesting detail is the grape varieties that the Médoc producers want to complement the grapes that are already allowed in Bordeaux. They want to add chardonnay, chenin blanc, gros manseng and viognier. It might work, but it’s not certain.
The regions that have these grapes as their flagships (such as Vouvray for chenin, Jurançon for gros manseng) may object. (That’s unfortunately a common protectionist reaction in the wine sector, not only in France.)
Will Burgundy accept chardonnay in Bordeaux? Perhaps. The Burgundians are used to seeing their chardonnay everywhere, and the grape is as much associated with Champagne. In any case, it is certain that in France, you do not take someone else’s grape variety with impunity without kindly asking permission.
Read more: Vitisphere
In a similar vein, the traditionally white appellation Entre-deux-Mers can now also make red wine, as we recently noted on BKWine Magazine.
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