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South West France

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Malbec (Côt)TannatNégretteFer ServadouMerlotCabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonSauvignon BlancSémillonMuscadellePetit MansengGros MansengMauzacLen de l’El

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South West France on the map

  • Scope: A family of vineyard areas between the Atlantic-facing west, Massif Central and Pyrenean foothills; no single grape or climate defines it.
  • Study framework: The four groups below organise this guide. They are not an official CMS classification: the supplied 2026/27 syllabus names regions and wines rather than these four groups.
  • Other geography: The regional wine body uses six basins for its area; Bergerac and Duras have a separate interprofessional body. Study groups are not AOC boundaries.

Four groups to navigate

  • Bergeracois & Duras: Bergerac follows the Dordogne; Duras sits around the Dropt. Begin with Bergerac, Côtes de Bergerac, Pécharmant, Monbazillac and Côtes de Duras.
  • Moyenne Garonne: The middle-Garonne study group brings together Buzet, Côtes du Marmandais and Fronton; Négrette is Fronton’s key grape reference.
  • Haut Pays / Massif Central: Use this inland study group for Cahors on the Lot, Gaillac on the Tarn and Marcillac in Aveyron. Haut Pays historically had a wider meaning: origins upstream of Bordeaux.
  • Piémont Pyrénéen: Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh share a production area but name red and white wines respectively; Jurançon and Irouléguy are distinct foothill origins.

Place & climate

  • Atlantic west: Oceanic influence brings mild conditions and rainfall; inland sites have greater seasonal contrasts.
  • Inland & east: Continental and Mediterranean influences vary with position, altitude and exposure; the entire South West is neither uniformly continental nor uniformly humid.
  • Foothills: Elevation and warm, dry foehn winds can affect ripening near the Pyrenees.
  • River systems: The Dordogne anchors Bergerac. The Lot and Tarn feed the Garonne; the Adour and Nive orient parts of the southern foothills.

Grape families

  • Local signatures: Négrette in Fronton, Malbec in Cahors, Fer in Marcillac and Tannat in Madiran are useful anchors.
  • White signatures: Mauzac and Len de l’El help orient Gaillac; Petit and Gros Manseng are important Pyrenean white-grape references.
  • Shared varieties: Merlot, the Cabernets, Sauvignon and Sémillon also matter. South-West wines are not made exclusively from varieties unique to each local district.
  • Wine style: A grape can appear in several styles: read the appellation, colour, sec or sweetness indication, and production method.

At the table

  • Assess: Choose by sweetness, acidity, tannin and body rather than one regional pairing formula.
  • Red: A firm dry red can suit lamb with rosemary or duck confit; a softer bottle can suit mushroom-and-lentil stew.
  • Dry white: Fresh white suits trout with herbs or Rocamadour; a fuller dry white suits chicken with tarragon cream.
  • Sweet white: Try concentrated sweet white with pear tart or Roquefort, keeping the wine at least as sweet as dessert.
  • Service: Start fresh whites and rosés at 8–10°C, textured whites at 10–12°C, sweet whites at 8–10°C and reds at 15–18°C. Taste before aerating; gentle sediment decanting serves a different purpose.

Saint Mont & Côtes de Gascogne

  • Saint Mont: A Gers AOC for red, rosé and dry white. Tannat is a major red/rosé reference with Fer, locally Pinenc, and Cabernets; Gros Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu anchor whites.
  • Côtes de Gascogne: An IGP especially associated with aromatic whites, both dry and sweeter, plus rosé and red. Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and the Mansengs are key white references.
  • Keep the categories separate: Saint Mont AOC and Côtes de Gascogne IGP have distinct geographical and production rules. Neither label alone determines price or quality.
  • Armagnac landscape: The Gascon vineyard also makes spirits and fortified products. A bottle of Côtes de Gascogne is wine, not Armagnac or Floc de Gascogne.

History & Storytelling

  • Monasteries on the routes to Santiago de Compostela helped develop vineyards; pilgrimage routes also encouraged exchanges of grape varieties.
  • The Garonne and its tributaries carried inland wines towards Bordeaux in cargo boats called gabarres. Bordeaux’s historic trading privileges restricted when wines from the Haut Pays could reach its port, giving local wines an advantage in the export trade.
  • Late-nineteenth-century phylloxera and downy mildew devastated vineyards. Subsequent rebuilding retained many of the South West’s distinctive local grapes.