ASIANOVERLAND.NET LONDON TO SYDNEY DAY 257: PAUILLAC TO SAINT EMILION, FRANCE

Saint-Émilion's history goes back at least 35,000 years before the region was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what became Saint-Émilion in the 2nd century.

Saint-Émilion, previously called Ascumbas, was renamed after the Breton monk Émilion (767), a travelling confessor, who settled in a hermitage carved into the rock there in the 8th century. The monks who followed him started commercial wine production in the area.

Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the wines produced in the area were well-renowned for their quality, although political instability during the European wars of religion negatively affected the vineyards. The region only began to recover in the late 19th centuy.

Saint-Émilion’s 5,400 hectares represent 6% of the total Bordeaux vineyard production. The wines of Saint-Émilion are typically blended from different grape varieties, the three main ones being Merlot (60%), Cabernet Franc (nearly 30%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (around 10%).

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