The Entre-Deux-Mers between history and land ...
Between
the Garonne to the south and the Dordogne to the north, the region of
the Entre-Deux-Mers forms a vast territory of "appellations contrôlées"
of the Gironde.
In the XI° century, the Benedictin monks built the Abbay of La Sauve
Majeure and they assured the prosperity of the region by planting vines
to produce a very fine wine.
A
few statistics :
Of the 47 000 hectares of vines in the geographic territory of the Entre-deux-Mers,
only 1 700 hectares are given over to dry white wines under the Entre-deux-Mers
appellation.
240 producers.
130 000 hectolitres harvested.
17 330 000 bottles including 60% for export.
La Sauve Majeur, a stop-over on the Saint Jacques-de-Compostelle road, belongs to the "world heritage of humanity" organization. This jewel of Aquitaine looks over the land where passionate wine-growers produce a great dry white wine of Bordeaux.
The vineyards are situated on the plateaux cut by many little rivers which them formed the hill sides. With all sorts of favourable exposures for the vines, the soil with a predominance of clay, is very favourable for the growing of the white vines and cradled by the gentle oceanic climate, the vines have found in the Entre-Deux-Mers the perfect environment.
The wines of the
Entre-Deux-Mers are obtained by assembling three varieties of the white
grape : the Semillon, the Sauvignon, the Muscadelle.
The repartition of these varieties can vary depending on the soil, the
exposure and the choice of wine wanted. From these combinations stem the
diverse complexity which makes each Entre-Deux-Mers wine unique.
The Sauvignon variety gives a sharp keen wine with strong aromas. It brings to the nose very fresh citrus fruit smells, like grapefruit but underlined by those other wild plants such as acacia flower, gorse, boxwood ...
The Semillon offers notes of spring flowers, of fruit white and yellow : pears, peaches which brings a roundness in the mouth. Discreet when young, it reveals and expresses all its aromas in ageing
The Muscadelle, floral and fruity too, contributes to the aromatic complexity of the Entre-Deux-Mers wines.
During the vinification, the winegrowers work at their wine according to different techniques. For several years now, still abiding to traditional methods, many of them leave the grape juice and grape skins macerating for several hours before the pressing (macération pelliculaire) this stage permits to accentuate the aroma expressions.
The moment the grape arrives at the winery it is pressed to separate the juice from the skin. The biggest deposit is eliminated by racking before the fermentation.
The fermentation
The alcoholic fermentation lasts 12 to 15 days. It is made between 18
à 20°.
The ageing
The ageing usually last 3 to 6 months and often longer if aged in oak
barrels.
The bottling
The wine is put into bottle the year after the harvest. Great care is
needed to preserve its freshness and aroma.
The bonification
The evolution and maturation continues in the bottles. This period can
last 2 to 5 years.