Blaye is a historic town that gives its name to a wider wine region located on the east bank of the Gironde estuary, 32km (20 miles) north, as crow flies, of Bordeaux city, and almost directly opposite the vineyards of Saint-Julien (and the Médoc). Its wider vineyard area produces red, white and rosé wines under various appellation titles.
The appellations
There are three most significant appellation titles used for the district's wines:
- The Blaye title itself is exclusively for red wines and covers a mere 37 hectares of vineyard area (91 acres).
- The Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux designation covers red and white wines with a more substantial 5490 hectares (13,500 acres) of vines.
- The little-used Côtes de Blaye title is exclusively for dry white wines, predominantly made from Colombard and Ugni Blanc.
The pan-regional Bordeaux appellation can also apply here. While this covers red, white and rosé wines, winegrowers in the Blaye region will regularly use the latter to cover their rosé wines, there being no more specific title for rosé in the Blaye area.
Grape varieties
Red wines made around Blaye are blended predominantly from Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon – the mainstays of modern Bordeaux wine – often with Cabernet Franc (these three varieties constitute the mainstays for the Blaye AOC/AOP). The appellation laws also permit the use of small quantities of Malbec (no more than 50 percent of any wine) as well as Petit Verdot and even Carmenère (these can constitute no more than 15 percent of any wine).
White wines from the Blaye district are based on an equally "Bordelais" selection of grape varieties: the internationally famous Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (the mainstays of the Côtes de Bordeaux blanc wines, along with Sauvignon Gris and Muscadelle) and the less widely known Colombard and Ugni Blanc (the workhorses of the Côtes de Blaye AOC/AOP).
Production methods
It may seem strange that Blaye has so many appellation titles for its few wine styles. There are, however, subtle differences between them all.
The white wines made under the "Côtes de Blaye" title, for example, are produced to more exacting quality standards with the Côtes de Blaye appellation laws requiring its wines to have a higher final alcohol levels (and to have been harvested with lower yields), than the district's other white wines – theoretically resulting in wines of superior quality.
The grape varieties used also create a distinction between the styles.
Landscape and hindrance to trade
The landscape around Blaye is visibly different – higher and hillier – from that just across the Gironde on the considerably flatter Médoc peninsula, and the Blaye area lends a picturesque element to the landscape of Bordeaux.
Although Blaye has been producing wines for far longer than the more prestigious villages across the estuary, it fell victim long ago to the regularly harsh nature of commercial realities. The area's particular position on the Gironde Estuary leads its shores to silt-up heavily, which made access difficult for trading ships.
The glory of Bordeaux as a whole has risen and fallen on the health of its exports, which has been subject to both geographical and political factors. Today, the presence of a nuclear power plant just 16km (10 miles) north of Blaye town does little to improve the area's reputation.
