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Appellation · France

Bourgueil

Chinon’s neighbour on the other side of the Loire, generally firmer and slower to come round.

Bourgueil AOCmaritimemoderate
What to expect in the glass

Medium-bodied dry red, firmer and more structured than Chinon, with redcurrant, graphite and a leafy edge. Give it five years.

About Bourgueil

Bourgueil lies on the right bank of the Loire opposite Chinon and makes Cabernet Franc in a firmer, more tannic register.

As in Chinon, there is a gravel-terrace style for early drinking and a tuffeau-slope style built to age, and the best examples are still improving at fifteen years.

What the name means

Legal name
Bourgueil AOC
Type
Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée / Protégée (AOC / AOP)
Set by
INAO
Recognised
1937
Regulates
Origin, plus grape varieties, maximum yields, minimum ageing.

The delimited area, permitted varieties, maximum yields, minimum alcohol, pruning and training methods, and in many cases minimum ageing. Administered by INAO.

Grapes

Wines from here

red

Loire Cabernet Franc

Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur-Champigny: medium-light, high-acid reds with raspberry fruit and a graphite, leafy edge.

Rules worth knowing

Confirmed in the EU register

Bourgueil is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-FR-A0729, protected at EU level since 1973.

Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

Specification published: Ares(2023)8684601 · Official Journal

Only the rules that change what to expect in the glass or on the label. WineHQ does not reproduce production specifications, and each entry carries the date it was last checked because appellation rules change.

The designation is confirmed above. WineHQ has not read this appellation’s production specification, so it publishes no yields, ageing minima or permitted-variety lists for it — those come from the document linked above, not from a summary of it.

What to eat, and how to serve it

Derived from this region’s signature styles. Each is listed separately, because a region does not have one serving temperature.

Loire Cabernet Franc

Serve at 13–16°C (cellar cool).

Try with herb-crusted lamb, steak with chimichurri or fillet steak.

Where to go next

Places worth trying if you like this one — neighbours, rivals, and the obvious step across.

  • Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil — A separate appellation carved out of Bourgueil, on lighter sandy soils, making the most immediately drinkable of the three Touraine reds.
  • Chinon — The Loire’s largest and most serious red appellation, and the benchmark for Cabernet Franc as a variety in its own right.

Sources

Sources consulted