Graves supérieures

It was in the Graves region that the legend of the Bordeaux vineyard began in the 1st century. This land was home to the first grape varieties. It saw the birth of the first vintages and the first great châteaux.

Since the first vines were planted in antiquity, the Graves vineyards and their winegrowers have written the history of Bordeaux wines, their development and their reputation.

It was in this region, at the gates of Bordeaux, that the Romans planted vines at the beginning of our era. During the Middle Ages, the influence of Bordeaux wines developed in the European royal courts, making this region the world's leading wine region.

From the 16th century onwards, thanks to their success, the winegrowers extended the vineyards and gradually modernised their installations and working methods around the most emblematic estates such as Haut-Brion. The rich Bordeaux bourgeoisie competed for land and built the first châteaux, dedicated to the production of red wines in the north and dry and semi-sweet white wines in the south.

In 1647, the first classification of Bordeaux wines placed Graves at the top of the hierarchy: the name Graves became synonymous with excellence and merchants from all over Europe snapped up the wines from these soils.

For nearly 400 years, the generations of winegrowers who have succeeded one another have kept their know-how alive and passed it on. They have constantly had to face difficulties and crises, adapt and change their methods to continue to offer wines that reflect the identity of our territory.

To fight against climatic risks and vine diseases such as oidium, phylloxera and mildew, they have brought technical and scientific innovations. To protect their name, guarantee the origin of the wines and preserve their terroirs from the galloping urbanisation, they created the Graves appellation d'origine contrôlée, one of the first in France, in 1937.

Today, strengthened by this heritage, respectful of their past and of tradition, the Graves winegrowers contribute vintage after vintage to perpetuate the history of Bordeaux wines.

The appellation bears the name of its soil. From Langon to Bordeaux, along the Garonne, the Graves territory spreads out its 5,000 hectares of vines.

After shaping the soil a few hundred thousand years ago, the Garonne continues to provide natural ventilation to this long strip of land. Close to the Atlantic Ocean, the climate is temperate. In spring, the humidity is favourable to the development of the vine. The heat is mitigated by the Landes pine forest to the south in the summer, and the fine late seasons are favourable for ripening the grapes before the harvest.

Reflecting the sun's rays, the gravels gradually redistribute the heat to the grapes during the day and in the evening and also contribute to a better ripening of the grapes.

As its name suggests, the Graves soil is made up of pebbles, gravels of varying sizes, sands mixed with silts and clays, resting in places on limestone but generally on pure sand, alios or clays.

These soils are highly permeable and the slopes encourage water run-off, ensuring optimal regulation of the water supply to the vines. The gravel deposits form well-defined ridges in the landscape, most of which benefit from excellent exposure.

The Graves supérieures are semi-sweet wines, made from grapes harvested at over-ripening, picked by successive manual selections, structured around Sémillon, which provides round, full-bodied, golden-coloured wines, sometimes combined with Sauvignon and Muscadelle, which then brings freshness.