Médoc

The Médoc (French pronunciation: ​[medɔk]; Gascon: Medòc [meˈðok]) 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, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from (Pagus) Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe. The region owes its economic success mainly to the production of red wine; it is home to around 1,500 vineyards.

The area also has pine forests and long sandy beaches. The Médoc's geography is not ideal for wine growing, with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean resulting in a comparatively mild climate and high rainfall making 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 a necessity and the increased amount of gravel in the soil allows heat to be retained, encouraging ripening, and extensive root systems.

Viticulture

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.

Médoc AOC

Médoc is an AOC for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of southwestern France, on the Left Bank of the Gironde estuary that covers the northern section of the viticultural strip along the Médoc peninsula. The zone is sometimes called Bas-Médoc (English: Low-Médoc), though this term is not permitted on any label. With few exceptions there is produced only red wine, and no white wine has the right to be called Médoc.

The term Médoc is often used in a geographical sense to refer to the whole Left Bank region, and as defined by the original Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) decree of November 14, 1936, the appellation may be applied to all wine produced in the prescribed zone in the peninsula, but this is rare practice by estates within Médoc's sub-appellations as it carries lesser perceived prestige. Effectively it covers the northern third of the Médoc peninsula, defined by a border that runs from Saint-Yzans and Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil (at the northern edges of Haut-Médoc AOC and Saint-Estèphe AOC) in the south, to Soulac-sur-Mer in the north, although viticultural activity ends near Vensac. In all sixteen wine-producing communes are exclusive to Médoc, and Bégadan, Saint-Christoly, Ordonnac, Saint-Yzans and Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil have historically enjoyed a reputation level to communes of the northern Haut-Médoc.

Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855

The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality.

The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths (crus). All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except for one: Château Haut-Brion from Graves. The white wines, then of much less importance than red wine, were limited to the sweet varieties of Sauternes and Barsac and were ranked only from superior first growth to second growth.

Changes to the classification

Within each category, the various châteaux are ranked in order of quality and only twice since the 1855 classification has there been a change, first when in 1856 Cantemerle was added as a fifth growth (having either been originally omitted by oversight or added as an afterthought, depending on which of the conflicting accounts is correct) and, more significantly, in 1973, when Château Mouton Rothschild was elevated from a second growth to a first growth vineyard after decades of intense lobbying by the powerful Philippe de Rothschild. A third, but less known "change", is the removal of Château Dubignon, a third growth from Margaux that was absorbed into the estate Château Malescot St. Exupéry.