Médoc

Médoc

Médoc, wine-producing district, southwestern France, on the left bank of the Gironde River estuary, northwest of Bordeaux. An undulating plain extending for about 50 miles (80 km) to Grave Point, the Médoc is renowned for its crus (vineyards). The grapes are grown especially along a strip of gravelly soil between the estuary and Landes Forest, which separates the estuary from the Bay of Biscay.

The land of the Médoc was early used for rye production, and, on land surrounding priories and feudal seigniories, for growing grapes. Dutch engineers drained the northern marshy lowlands in the early part of the 17th century to make the land more suitable for agriculture. In the second half of that century, the seigniories became the great estates of the gentry. As the practice of viticulture developed, the connection between the region’s gravelly soil and the wine it produced became clear. The Médoc was perfectly suited to wine production, and virtually all the vineyards of Médoc were planted by 1760.

Most of these were wiped out a century later by grape phylloxera (a small greenish-yellow insect), mildew, and fungus. Though vintners struggled to recover, restructuring their vineyards and importing American graft-stocks, the region only regained and surpassed its former reputation in the mid-20th century.

The Médoc produces many of the best-known Bordeaux red wines, notably Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Some Merlot and Petit Verdot grapes are also grown.