Collection: Graves

Graves is a wine-growing region in the south of the Bordeaux region that is thousands of years old. The Romans planted vineyards here as early as the first century, making Graves one of the oldest wine regions in the world. Its name is derived from the pebble-rich soil (terre graveleuse), which stores the warmth of the day for the night and slowly releases it to the vines. In this way, the ripening process can be supported in a completely natural way, making Graves the only region in France that can produce excellent red, white and sweet wines. The dominant red varieties (around 2/3) include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Among the white varieties (1/3), the grape varieties Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Muscadelle and Merlot Blanc are very popular.

​Graves has had Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) status since 1937. At that time, the total vineyard area was still around 10,000 hectares, but the expansion of the city of Bordeaux reduced this to around 3,600 hectares. The excellent quality remains, however, so that Château Haut-Brion has remained the only one of the 61 best Bordeaux châteaux outside the Médoc since 1855. Since 1953 and after a revision in 1959, Graves has also been divided into a single-tier classification according to red and white wine, exclusively red wine and exclusively white wine.