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France

South-West France

45 000 ha under vine

Soils
A patchwork — limestone causses of the Lot, Adour gravels, Pyrenean foothill clays
Climate
Oceanic shading to Pyrenean; the autumn foehn ripens the late varieties

On the map

South-West France — 45 000 haLanguedoc — 220 000 haBordeaux — 110 000 haSicily — 98 000 haVeneto — 96 000 haPuglia — 87 000 haSouthern Rhône — 66 000 haRioja — 66 000 haTuscany — 60 000 haLoire Valley — 57 000 haEmilia-Romagna — 50 000 haKakheti — 48 000 haPiedmont — 43 000 haDouro — 43 000 haChampagne — 34 000 haAbruzzo — 33 000 haUtiel-Requena — 32 000 haBurgundy — 29 500 haProvence — 27 000 haSardinia — 27 000 haFriuli — 25 000 haRibera del Duero — 25 000 haPenedès — 25 000 haPfalz — 23 000 haCampania — 23 000 haAlentejo — 22 000 haMinho — 21 000 haRueda — 20 000 haDão — 20 000 haMarche — 16 000 haAlsace — 15 600 haBeaujolais — 13 500 haBurgenland — 13 000 haUmbria — 12 000 haCalabria — 9 000 haMosel — 8 800 haDalmatia — 8 000 haJerez — 7 000 haCyprus — 7 000 haAttica — 6 500 haFranken — 6 100 haCorsica — 6 000 haTokaj — 5 800 haAlto Adige — 5 600 haValais — 4 800 haNorthern Rhône — 4 400 haRías Baixas — 4 300 haNahe — 4 200 haSussex & Kent — 4 000 haRheingau — 3 200 haBierzo — 3 000 haNemea — 3 000 haSavoie — 2 200 haJura — 2 000 haPriorat — 2 000 haWachau — 1 350 haValdeorras — 1 300 haSantorini — 1 100 haNaoussa — 700 haMadeira — 450 haColares — 20 haSouth-West FranceLanguedocBordeauxSicilyVenetoPugliaSouthern RhôneRiojaTuscanyLoire ValleyEmilia-RomagnaKakhetiPiedmontDouroChampagneAbruzzoUtiel-RequenaBurgundyProvenceSardiniaFriuliRibera del DueroPenedèsPfalzCampaniaAlentejoMinhoRuedaDãoMarcheAlsaceBeaujolaisBurgenlandUmbriaCalabriaMoselDalmatiaJerezCyprusAtticaFrankenCorsicaTokajAlto AdigeValaisNorthern RhôneRías BaixasNaheSussex & KentRheingauBierzoNemeaSavoieJuraPrioratWachauValdeorrasSantoriniNaoussaMadeiraColares
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

The other southwest: not one vineyard but a constellation of ancient ones — Cahors, Madiran, Gaillac, Jurançon — many of them older than Bordeaux, which for centuries throttled their river trade with its police des vins, holding the upstream barrels back until its own wines had sold. Jurançon was poured at the christening of the infant Henri IV in 1553, a story every grower there still tells.

What survived that long shadow is a conservatory of grapes found nowhere else: Tannat at Madiran, Fer Servadou, the Mansengs of the Pyrenean foothills, Malbec in its Cahors homeland long before Argentina borrowed it. Scattered from the Lot's causses to the mountains, these appellations now trade on the very singularity that once kept them obscure.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Cahors Red wine Madiran Red wine Jurançon Sweet white

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 5The Monastic Middle Ages — 35Exploration & the Fortified Age — 30Classifications & the Golden Age — 30Phylloxera & the World Crises — 30The Modern & New World Era — 45Antiquity5500150017001875195045
Origins & Antiquity Antiquity The Monastic Middle Ages 500 Exploration & the Fortified Age 1500 Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950