AOC/AOP Regulations

Département

  • Gironde

Commune of Production

  • Fronsac, Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac

Styles and Encépagement

  • Rouge: 
    • Principal Varieties: Min. 80% combined Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot
    • Accessory Varieties: Cot (Malbec), max. 10% Carmenère, and max. 10% Petit Verdot
  • Until 2015, the combined minimum encépagement for Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot may only be 70%

Assemblage

  • The principal varieties must compose the majority of the blend.

Minimum Potential Alcohol

  • Rouge: 11%

Minimum Must Weights

  • Rouge: 180 g/l (198 g/l for Merlot)

Maximum Residual Sugar

  • Rouge: 3 g/l

Élevage

  • The wines may not be released until September 1 of the year following the harvest.

Minimum Planting Density

  • 5,000 vines per hectare

Maximum Yield (Rendement de Base)

  • Rouge: 53 hl/ha

Principle Soils

  • sandstone & limestone (w/ clay) in the north (higher elevation; more quality wines). Closer to the Dordogne, alluvial clay.

AOC Established

  • 1939 as Côtes de Canon Fronsac; renamed Canon Fronsac in 1964. (last updated 2011)

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