Skip to content
WineHQ
Search

Appellation · France

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.

Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil AOCmaritimemoderate
What to expect in the glass

Light-to-medium bodied dry red, bright and raspberry-scented with soft tannin and high acidity. Drink young and lightly chilled.

About Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil

Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil is a separate appellation within the commune of Bourgueil, on predominantly sandy and gravelly terrace soils.

Those lighter soils give a lighter, more aromatic, earlier-drinking wine than Bourgueil proper — the most immediately charming of the Touraine Cabernet Francs.

What the name means

Legal name
Saint-Nicolas-de-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

Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil is registered as a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), file number PDO-FR-A0585, protected at EU level since 1973.

Article 107 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013

Specification published: Official Journal C, C/2026/2067, 31.03.2026 · 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.

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