Saint-Émilion

Discover the Saint-Émilion appellation

Saint-Émilion, this beautiful medieval city from the Libournais region, also found on the UNESCO World Heritage list, gave its name to two red wine appellations: Saint-Émilion and Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. This vineyard stretches over 8 communes and is located to the east of the eponymous city. It is a collection of smaller parcels, between the Dordogne department and the Barbanne River, which explains its extremely diverse terroirs.

This Bordeaux vineyard is very ancient; archaeologists have unearthed wine amphors from 56 BC, in the region. At the time, the Cumbis Forest had been razed to make way for the very first grapevines. Those were brought from the town of Massilia (which was the former name of Marseille) then grafted to the vinestocks growing in the region.

Unfortunately, the vineyard got destroyed by the Roman Empire, around 97 AD. But in the 5th century, Christian monks brought it back from the dead, as wine was a sacred iteam in their rituals. Century after century, wine trading grew, especially during the 1900's, witht the apparition of new winemaking techniques as well as a need for more quality products. This explains why the appellation has to follow very specific guidelines in order to use the Saint-Émilion name nowadays.

The vineyard is planted in a limestone soil (also composed of gravel, sand and alluvial deposits). Its total area of exploitation is around 5,600 hectares for a 52,000 hectoliters of wine produced each year, on average. The Merlot makes up 60% of the entire vineyard, next to the smaller quantities of Cabernet France and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties.

Check out our selection of Saint-Émilion wines. The finest bottles, chosen by Pleasure Wine!