The appellation named after the commune of the same name (until 1976 it was called Côtes de Fronsac) for red wines only is located in the French region of Bordeaux to the west of the two areas of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. From the 17th to well into the 19th century, the wines from Fronsac were more important than those from its now dominant neighbour Pomerol, from which it is separated only by the small tributary of the Dordogne, the Isle. Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) introduced wine to the French royal court. The vineyards cover around 1,000 hectares of vines on limestone and calcareous clay soils in the seven communes of Fronsac, La Rivière, Saint-Germain-de-la-Rivière, Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac, Saint-Aignan, Saillans and parts of Galgon. Around 300 hectares of the two municipalities Fronsac and Saint-Michel-de-Fronsac with a particularly homogeneous terroir and excellent exposure (sunlight) have the right to the designation Canon-Fronsac (or Côtes de Canon-Fronsac). The picture shows the view over the Dordogne to the appellation Fronsac.
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