The wines of Graves have a longer history than those of the Médoc. While the land to the north was still unworkable, disease-ridden swampland, Graves wines were successfully exported to England: Samuel Pepys famously extolled the virtues of “Ho-Bryan” in 1663, and the 1660 cellar-book of King Charles II shows the wine in inventory. Archives uncovered in Bordeaux in 2014 show a sale of the wine by name – „Aubrion“ – in 1521! Château Pape-Clément remains the first identifiable vineyard estate in the region, a papal gift awarded to Bordeaux in 1305. As late as 1785, Thomas Jefferson considered the red wines of Graves to be superior to those of the Médoc, but by 1855 the wines had clearly fallen in favor, as evidenced by the inclusion of only one Graves estate in the famous classification.
In Graves, the soil is similar to the Médoc but becomes sandier toward the south. This mixture of sand, gravel and light clay is known as boulbenes. Unlike the Médoc appellations, both red and dry white wines may be labeled as Graves AOP. Red wine accounts for approximately 2/3 of production. Apart from the inclusion of Château Haut-Brion among the first growths of the Médoc, Graves wines were first classified in 1953, with 6 additional wines added in 1959. 13 estates are now classified cru classé for red wines and 9 for whites. 16 châteaux in total are included, although Château La Tour Haut-Brion (classified for red wine) produced its final vintage in 2005, and Château Laville Haut-Brion (classified for white wine) produced its final vintage in 2008. Both properties now supply fruit for a second red wine and a new white wine under the Château La Mission Haut-Brion label. Unlike the 1855 Classification, this effort was undertaken with the support of the INAO.
In 1987, the communal sub-appellation Pessac-Léognan AOP was created in northern Graves, effectively becoming the prestige appellation for both red and dry white wines while sidelining the producers of the southern Graves. All cru classé properties are located within the communes of Pessac-Léognan AOP: Pessac, Léognan, Cadaujac, Canéjan, Gradignan, Martillac, Mérignac, Saint-Médard-d’Eyrans, Talence, and Villenave-d’Ornons.
While sweet whites may be produced throughout Graves as Graves Supérieur AOP, three smaller sweet wine appellations – Cérons, Barsac, and Sauternes – are located within the region. The wines of Sauternes AOP are some of the world’s most expensive and acclaimed dessert wines. Produced from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, the wines achieve great complexity in good years due to the development of Botrytis cinerea, known as pourriture noble – the noble rot.
Due to the unique climactic conditions of Sauternes and Barsac (and to a lesser extent Cérons) the Botrytis mold may attack the grapes, dehydrating them so that sugar, acidity, and glycerol content are heightened. The wines achieve an intense spiced complexity that would be impossible to duplicate through normal dehydration; with time the mold-afflicted grapes can imbue a bouquet of honey, saffron, dried fruit and ginger spice. Sauternes lies at the conflux of the Ciron and Garonne rivers, and in promising years cool morning mists blow off the Ciron and encounter the warmer waters of the Garonne, producing autumn afternoon humidity perfect for incubating the Botrytis spores. The noble rot is fickle, however, and does not attack grapes evenly, requiring the producer to pick the grapes individually, in separate trips through the vineyard (tries), a fabulously expensive proposition available only to the better estates.
The wines of Sauternes were classified alongside those of the Médoc in 1855 and were divided into second growths and first growths, with one château achieving the rank of Premier Cru Supérieur: Château d’Yquem. Yquem’s wines are legendary, and the château can afford to send its pickers on more than a dozen tries if necessary. Yquem will not produce a Sauternes AOP wine in poor years, such as 1992 or 1974. The estate also intermittently produces a dry white wine, “Y” (“Ygrec“), labeled as Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur. Sauternes AOP covers five villages: Sauternes, Barsac, Fargues, Preignac, and Bommes. The wines of Barsac may be sold as either Barsac AOP or Sauternes AOP. The grapes are harvested at a minimum must weight of 221 grams per liter, and the finished wines must contains at least 45 grams per liter of residual sugar. Often they are aged in a moderate-to-high percentage of new oak for up to two years prior to release, although the unclassified Château Gilette releases the remarkable “Crème de Tête” after a decades-long maturation in concrete vats.