Bourgueil
Cool maritime
Cabernet Franc reds from the Loire's north bank, typically a little firmer and more structured than neighbouring Chinon.
Overview
About Bourgueil
Bourgueil sits on the Loire's right bank west of Tours, with a neighbouring sister appellation, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil. Like Chinon it was made an AOC in 1937, and it produces reds and rosés from Cabernet Franc, with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon permitted.
The vineyards divide into gravel-and-sand terraces near the river, which give fruity wines for early drinking, and a south-facing limestone hillside (the coteau), whose wines are more structured and can age for decades. The vineyards have been worked since the Middle Ages, in part by the monks of the local abbey.
Bourgueil is marked on the map.
France
Shaded: Indre-et-Loire. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool maritime
Cool and oceanic. The coteau is sheltered from northerly winds and faces south toward the river, giving the hillside vineyards a warmer microclimate than the plain below.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Gravel-and-sand terraces closest to the river produce lighter, fruitier wines; on the coteau, tuffeau limestone with clay-flint gives more structure and greater longevity.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Bourgueil is a single appellation, an AOC since 1937, and its neighbour Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil has its own.
AOC Bourgueil
Red and rosé from Cabernet Franc, with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon permitted.
AOC Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
The smaller neighbouring appellation, with sandier soils and a lighter style.
Style, not tier
Wines from the gravel terraces tend to be lighter; those from the limestone hillside are firmer. Producers often bottle both separately.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.