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Appellation · France

Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

The eastward continuation of the Saint-Émilion limestone plateau, on the other side of an appellation boundary and a large price gap.

Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux AOCmaritimemoderate
What to expect in the glass

Fresh, firm, Merlot-led red with dark fruit and a limestone-driven grip. Recognisably Right Bank in style, more structured than Lalande-de-Pomerol, and among the best value in Bordeaux.

About Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux

Castillon lies immediately east of Saint-Émilion, and the limestone plateau simply continues across the boundary. The appellation line follows a historic administrative division, not a change in the ground.

It is slightly cooler and slightly later-ripening than Saint-Émilion, which in the warm seasons of the last two decades has been an advantage. Several serious Saint-Émilion producers have bought land here.

The town is better known for the battle of 1453 that ended the Hundred Years’ War and with it three centuries of English rule in Aquitaine — which is also the end of the trade arrangement that first made Bordeaux a wine-exporting region.

What the name means

Legal name
Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux AOC
Type
Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée / Protégée (AOC / AOP)
Set by
INAO
Recognised
2009
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.

Worth knowing

Formerly Côtes de Castillon; renamed on joining the Côtes de Bordeaux umbrella in 2009.

Grapes

Wines from here

red

Red Bordeaux

The blended Cabernet–Merlot benchmark: structured, cedary and built to age, with two distinct characters depending on which bank of the river it comes from.

Soil and geology

Underlying geology
The same Astéries limestone plateau that underlies Saint-Émilion, continuing east
Soils
Clay over limestone on the plateau and slopes; Alluvial soils on the Dordogne plain
Drainage
Moderate
Water holding
High

What it does to the vine. Geologically continuous with Saint-Émilion’s best ground: cool, water-retentive clay over limestone, restricting vigour and supplying water steadily through the summer.

WineHQ describes soil in terms of what it demonstrably does — drainage, heat retention, water supply, rooting depth — and not in terms of flavours it is said to transmit. Vines take up ions, not aromas, and no mechanism has been demonstrated by which a mineral in the ground is tasted in the glass. See soil and drainage.

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.

Red Bordeaux

Serve at 16–18°C (cool room temperature).

Try with steak, lamb or roast beef.

Where to go next

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

  • Saint-Émilion — The Right Bank’s largest fine-wine appellation, built on Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a classification that is revised — and argued about — every decade.
  • Côtes de Bordeaux — A 2009 umbrella appellation gathering several hillside areas around the edges of Bordeaux, each entitled to add its own name.

Sources

Sources consulted