Barsac

The origins of Barsac are lost in the mists of time: prehistoric perhaps - cut flints -, Gallo-Roman without doubt - ancient road linking Bordeaux to Agen -, certainly medieval - attested by the 11th century destroyed church.

There are many witnesses to the age and historical wealth of Barsac: noble houses and castles from the 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a magnificent 18th century church - listed as a Monument Historique - "of rare richness and elegance" both in its construction and its furniture.

The importance of Barsac is due to the privileged title of "Royal Provost" which it enjoyed from the 13th century. Thus Henry III, King of England, in 1254 addressed "the nobles and free men of the Provostry of Barsac". Until 1643, this provostry included a vast territory of nine parishes: Barsac, Preignac, Cérons, Pujols-sur-Ciron, Bommes, Sauternes, Villagrains, Saint-Morillon and Saint-Selve.

For centuries, its power was not only administrative and legal but also commercial thanks to the intense activity of its port. Indeed, until the middle of the inter-war period, due to its location, the port of Barsac was one of the most important on the left bank of the Garonne. Barges ensured the transport of a good number of goods to Bordeaux, such as acacia wood or pine from the Landes, which was floated down the Ciron and used as mine poles - in England in particular - and railway sleepers, until 1935.

Another important traffic, which is not well known nowadays, was that of Barsac stone. Barsac limestone had its heyday and was quarried for a long time for its quality. Highly resistant to weathering and mortar-binding, it was sought after for the construction of buildings such as the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux built by Victor Louis (1780) or even a century later for the construction of the Eiffel bridges.

Some blocks of stone, not having the dimensions required for architecture, were cut to serve as kerbstones. These "Barsac paving stones", which were transported to Bordeaux, were sometimes called "American paving stones" because from time to time they were used as ballast for ships leaving for the West Indies. Thus the pavements of Basse-Terre, Fort-de-France and Saint-Pierre (in Martinique) come from Barsac.

Of course, the local wine production and that of the neighbouring communes contributed to the development of Barsac. Boats and barges left loaded with full barrels - 6,000 barrels in 1624 -, empty barrels and new barrels - in 1900 there were still nearly 300 coopers.

Nowadays, only the wine industry is still well known and the reputation of Barsac has spread far and wide.

Barsac is located 38 km south-east of Bordeaux, on the left bank of the Garonne at the mouth of the Ciron. The crossroads of the river and the cold stream coming from the Landes creates an exceptional micro-climate favouring the development of Botrytis cinerea, the "noble rot" which transforms grapes into gold.

The landscape of Barsac is that of a low-lying plateau (about 18 metres) with a slight slope to the north towards the Garonne. Its famous site is easily recognisable, thanks to the low dry stone walls - extracted from the ground before planting - which surround the vineyard plots.

The 1448 hectares of the commune of Barsac form a sort of diamond shape with a north/south diagonal measuring 8 km and an east/west diagonal measuring 4.5 km.

There are three major types of terroir:

• starting from the Garonne river, modern alluvial deposits;
• then, in the direction of the national road and the railway, ancient alluvial deposits forming an ellipse of stony soils (Garonne gravel of the Günz);
• finally, a plateau - known as Haut-Barsac - clay-limestone (Middle Quaternary) with a stampian or asteriated limestone subsoil, the terroir where the oldest vintages are located. A layer of red earth, composed of red Mindelian sands, 20 to 40 cm thick, lies on this limestone plateau through which the vine's roots can sometimes descend to a depth of 10 m to find mineral wealth, trace elements and moisture to feed themselves.