Chateau Turcaud Blanc 75cl

Entre-deux-Mers is a large subregion and appellation of the Bordeaux wine region of South West France. “Entre-deux-Mers” translates literally as “between two seas”, although the seas in question are in fact rivers – the Garonne and Dordogne, which respectively form the area’s southwestern and northern boundaries.

The actual appellation title is for white wines only and it is important to distinguish between the geographical area referred to as “Entre-deux-Mers” (which is indeed the land between the Garonne and Dordogne) and the wine appellation which covers much of this area but does not, for example, include an area on the eastern bank of the Garonne river.

This section, at the western edge of Entre-deux-Mers, is covered by the sweet white wine title of the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux and its red wine counterpart: Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux. This area also harbors the sweet(er) white, botrytized wines of Cadillac, Loupiac and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.

To the very south of the Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux region lies the Côtes de Bordeaux-Saint-Macquaire appellation for dry and sweet white wines. Again, while it can sometimes occur to have overlapping appellations (Premières Côtes de Bodeaux overlaps Cadillac, for example, with tighter production restirictions covering the latter, more prestigious, title) the Entre-deux-Mers appellation is distinct from Saint-Macquaire and the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux.

The same is true on the northern side of the appellation where the smaller Graves de Vayres title forms an enclave on the south bank of the Dordogne, just west of Liborne, around the town of Vayres. Just beyond Entre-deux-Mers to the east, about 60km (37 miles) east of Bordeaux town, lies the Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux appellation, hemmed in by Bergerac to the north and east, and the Côtes de Duras to the south.

Thus, while the geographical Entre-deux-Mers is home to various appellations, the Entre-deux-Mers appellation is relatively uncluttered – harboring only one official subtitle: Haut-Benauge. The latter lies in the southwestern quadrant of the title, neighboring the Premières Côtes and Saint-Macquaire appellations and covers just nine communes.

Including the Haut-Benauge zone, the Entre-deux-Mers appellation covers 132 communes, running from Ambarès-et-Lagrave in the very northwest (almost at the confluence of the two rivers) to Lamothe-Landerron in the southeast, on the boundary with the Lot-et-Garonne administrative department – a distance of 70km (43 miles).

While the appellation title itself applies uniquely to dry white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle and Ugni Blanc, the majority of wine produced within the boundaries of the AOC Entre-Deux-Mers is red, and thus can only be labeled as generic Bordeaux or Bordeaux Supérieur. The reported vineyard area covering said white varieties is 1441 hectares (Conseil Interprofessionnel du vin de Bordeaux).

The landscape is mostly fertile and green, rolling gently between 33 and 330ft (10–100m) above sea level. However, vineyards have replaced some of the green landscape, with large patches of land being rapidly turned over to viticulture. The soils here are predominantly of alluvial type (sand and clay in varying proportions) from the two rivers.

Many winegrowers in the region uprooted their white grape varieties in the mid-20th Century, replacing them with more popular (and commercially viable) red varieties; primarily Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. However in recent years white wines have been making a comeback, due to modernized winemaking and the demand for crisp, dry whites.

The wines produced here are generally increasing in quality, but do not match those from areas such as Pomerol or the Haut-Médoc, even if the landscape is often more appealling to the eye.