The ABCs of Appellation Bergerac Contrôlée

The Dordogne department of France’s Southwest is said to be home to over one thousand castles. As you drive through the region’s gentle hills, you’ll unearth a new one with every turn. And, as you can imagine with any castle, vast treasure often lies within. Château Castelnaud showcases a prized collection of medieval weaponry and the cliffside Château de Beynac houses elaborate tapestries of the lords who used to roam its halls. But many of the castles, notably those surrounding the city of Bergerac, still reap the gifts that grow beyond their centuries old doors. Because of improvements in quality and more attention in the vineyards, this oft-overlooked wine region appears to be going through a renaissance

Like much of France’s Southwest, Bergerac shares a storied and seemingly uneven rivalry with Bordeaux. But with their vineyards touching, Bordeaux’s shadow may seem inescapable to Bergerac. Both regions grow the same grapes on the shores of Dordogne River, with Bergerac’s climate only a shade hotter than that of its eastern neighbor. While Bergerac seeks its own voice in the world of fine wine, its vintners will be the first to point out the fabled vines of Saint-Émilion looming in the distance. Admittedly, in writing this article, I too found it challenging to discuss these wines without conjuring their Bordelais analogues.

As as much as any competition with Bordeaux may appear an uphill battle, this was not always the case for Bergerac. For centuries the “black wines” of the Southwest were lauded for their deep concentration and superior quality. The Dutch would not drain the Médoc of its marshland state until the 17th Century and make what would become many of Bordeaux’s most prized vineyards plantable. Yet Bordeaux long maintained control of a potentially greater asset: its port. Since the 13th Century, Bordeaux heavily taxed its Southwestern competitors, suppressing their booming export business. The Southwestern landscape suffered as a major battleground during the Hundred Years’ War, and the Black Death that coincided with and succeeded it plagued its residents. Reduced to poverty, the region was riddled with peasant revolts and recurring pirate raids. To make matters worse, Bergerac also served as a Huguenot stronghold. Upon the evocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 (which provided legal protection to Protestants), locals faced significant persecution that further hindered their wine industry. Fast forward to the mid 1800s, phylloxera devastated Bergerac’s vines. Today, Bergerac cultivates approximately one sixth of the vineyard area it held before the phylloxera crisis.

Château de Monbazillac

While history has not been nearly as kind to Bergerac as it has been to Bordeaux, the result has led the region’s wineries to embrace a wholly different philosophy. Bordeaux’s great châteaux focus their attention on one or two wines. Bergerac estates are far more diversified, often building their portfolios to over a dozen bottlings. Many Bergerac winemakers will experiment with any trick imaginable, from amphorae ageing to introducing grapes foreign to the Aquitaine (could you imagine finding chardonnay next door?). Without the big Bordeaux brand breathing down its neck, Bergerac possesses the freedom of exploration. This is a refreshing change of pace from many of France’s most classic regions, where tradition sometimes comes at the price of innovation.

An air of humility also pervades the entire region. For many of the estates, the proprietor and winemaker are one in the same. Even among the wineries housed in the most lavish castles, few possess the same technological resources as the famous Bordeaux properties. The vintners are more collaborative than competitive, demonstrating tremendous pride in not only their own products, but in the region’s accomplishments as a whole.

A view of the vineyards from Château Bélingard

Unlike Bordeaux, Bergerac isn’t just synonymous with wine. The Dordogne is a culinary Mecca and one of France’s most respected suppliers of foie gras, along with black truffles and walnuts. I’d also be remiss not to mention Bergerac’s most famous fictional resident, Cyrano. His monumental nose must have proven handy when sniffing his hometown’s finest wines.