Saint-Emilion

Situation and soil about Saint-Emilion area  
Saint-Emilion's fame is due to its wines but also to its historical and cultural inheritance. The walled hilltop village of St.Emilion itself, which has survived almost untouched from the Middle Ages, was classified "World Patrimony" in 1999 by the UNESCO. The vineyards of Saint Emilion are located near Bordeaux (35 km) on the 'right bank' or north side of the Dordogne River. For several historical reasons before the French revolution (1789), St-Emilion's land was initially divided into thousands of plots. Thus, the current average size of the properties of Saint-Emilion does not exceed 7 ha, which is little when compared to the five times larger of Medoc wine estates. Fortunately this historical inheritance later turned out to be an advantage when vines were planted around the little town of St-Emilion because of the astonishing diversity of the local soils. St-Emilion is covered with a thick molasse layer of calcareous, argillaceous and in some places, of sandy nature. At certain areas, erosion has brought the molasse directly to a few tens of centimetres of the surface. Saint Emilion is assigned to five main areas based on the type of soil: 
* Côte Sud, or South coast where one can find 11 out of the 13 highest rated appellation's Chateaux, all located on the best terroirs at the Southern gate of the village.
* Graves de Figeac, located at the extreme Northwest of the historical little city of St Emilion
* The West coast, whose soil is quite similar to that of the "Côte Sud" with, however, less exposure to the sun.
* The North coast on which the soil is mostly aeolian sand (very fine sand brought by the wind). 
* The plateau of St-Martin on which the poor clay-limestone soil is only 50 to 60 centimetres from the surface, forcing the vine's roots very deep into the ground. With the exception of the gravelly soil of the Graves de Figeac on which the Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon varietals are particularily well adapted, St-Emilion is the home of the Merlot type of vine.  

Characteristics about Saint-Emilion appellation 
St-Emilion's Merlot dominated wines are often less austere than their cousins of the Médoc region. They Saint-Emilion wines are fully rich, velvety, fruity, elegant and powerful. After 10-15 years of ageing, the wines of Saint-Emilion  tend to gain complexity from their initial aromas by integrating rich leather, earthy and spicy flavours. 

Main properties of the appellation Saint Emilion
Since 1954, Saint-Emilion has its own official classification. Two main classes were established: - 

Saint-Emilion "Grand Cru Classé", which gathers 46 properties, and Saint-Emilion "Premier Grand Cru Classé" which itself is divided into two sub-groups A and B. Châteaux Ausone and Cheval Blanc are part of the group A. 

Saint Emilion's 13 following properties are categorized in the sub-group B: Angélus, Beau-Séjour Bécot, Beauséjour, Belair, Canon, Figeac, La Gaffelière, Magdeleine, Pavie, Trottevieille, Clos Fourtet and the two newcomers in 2006, Pavie Macquin and Troplong-Mondot.  

Saint Emilion's classification is revised every ten years (last in 2006). During the 1990s, a very surprising new category of wines appeared: the "garagiste" wines, whose tiny production and extremely low yields give highly fruity concentrated and extracted wines. The two most famous "garagistes" estates are Valandraud and Mondotte.

Varietals and technical data about Saint-Emilion appellation
With a surface of 4500 ha, the average production, exclusively in red, is of approx. 250000 hl. 

Average yield about Saint-Emilion appellation: 56 hl/ha.

Type of vines about Saint-Emilion appellation: Merlot - Cabernet Franc - Cabernet Sauvignon.