📍 Libournais

Libournais is a wine zone in Bordeaux, on the Right Bank. It lies around the town of Libourne, next to Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. It is part of the larger Bordeaux region.

Red wines dominate in the Libournais. The main grape here is Merlot, followed by Cabernet Franc. The soils are clay and limestone, and Merlot does well on them.

Many appellations belong to the zone: Saint-Émilion and its neighbours (Lussac, Montagne, Puisseguin, Saint-Georges), Pomerol and Lalande-de-Pomerol, Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac. The top level of Saint-Émilion is Saint-Émilion Grand Cru.

The names are governed by France's system of geographical indications. A label usually shows the appellation, not the word Libournais. For a visitor this is a chance to see châteaux and cellars where wine is aged in barrels. There are many small estates here, and many of them are family-run. Wines from this zone usually show the name of the village right on the label, while the word Libournais is used mainly in reference books and in talk about the region.