Plans for white AOC Médoc are making headway

he board of the Médoc, Haut-Médoc and Listrac appellations met on 5 July to approve plans to recognise a Médoc appellation for white wines in a region known for its reds. The project is not so much a newly-minted idea as a return to the past, claims Claude Gaudin, chairman of the producers’ organisation: “There was a time when the Médoc produced significant volumes of white wine (dry and even sweet). It fell into oblivion with the demise of white AOC Médoc” and wineries could only use the white Bordeaux appellation.

Gaudin advocates “genuine differentiation” in the Bordeaux wine proposition, insisting that “the objective is not to produce another white Bordeaux. We want to stand out. What counts is the quality of the vineyard sites and the way they are promoted”, he said, noting that this is already true today, not only for 1855-classified Grand Crus, but also for the Crus Bourgeois that are diversifying into production of white wines.

The proposed specifications for the white Médoc AOC are currently being finalised and should be submitted in the first half of 2023. As of January 1, 2022, the Médoc had 169 hectares of white vines. A chat with Médoc wineries reveals that white wine production could amount to 6,000 hectolitres, or the equivalent of 800,000 bottles. That’s a far cry from the 2 million-bottle peak of the 1930s, according to historical research by the producers’ organisation.