Pomerol AOC

Pomerol (French pronunciation: [pɔmʁɔl]) is a French wine-growing commune and Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) within the Libournais ("Right Bank") in Bordeaux. The wine produced here is predominately from Merlot with Cabernet Franc playing a supporting role.^[1] Unlike most other Bordeaux communes, there is no real village of Pomerol, although there is a church. The houses are set among the vineyards.^[2][3]

The region was recognized as a distinct wine region apart from Saint-Émilion and the greater Libournais region by the French government in 1923 and was granted AOC status in 1936 as part of the first wave of AOC establishments by the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO).^[1] While it is now one of the most prestigious of the Bordeaux AOCs, this situation is relatively recent, dating to the second half of the twentieth century, which is often given as one of the reasons why Pomerol is not included in any of the Bordeaux classifications.^[4][5][6]

Pomerol is the smallest of the major fine wine regions in Bordeaux, covering an area that is roughly three kilometers wide by 4 kilometers long. It is roughly one-seventh of the size of its much larger Right Bank neighbor Saint-Émilion AOC and is on par with the smallest Left Bank commune of Saint-Julien AOC in the Médoc. In 1998, there were 784 hectares of grape vines planted within the AOC boundaries producing 36,066 hectoliters (≈ 952,763 gallons or 400,733 cases) of wine.^[1] In 2003 there were 150 declared producers in Pomerol harvesting 780 ha and producing a year average of 32,250 hl (around 358,333 cases) of wine. Almost all the wine is estate-bottled. Unlike other French wine regions, such as Burgundy and the Rhône Valley, there are no co-operatives currently operating in Pomerol.^[3] By 2007, the number of planted hectares had risen slightly to 800 ha (1980 acres).^[7] In 2009, there were 140 declared producers in Pomerol, have an average surface area of six hectares and the vineyard of the "Pomerol" appellation covers 800 hectares for an average production of 35,000 hectoliters per year.^[8]

While many Pomerol wines now fetch very high prices at wine auctions and in the private market on a par with the most highly rated classified growths of Bordeaux, there is no official classification of Pomerol wine. However, the region does contain one property widely held to be equivalent to premier cru: Château Pétrus.^[2][3]