Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

Loupiac, sweet white wine appellation on the right bank of the garonne in the bordeaux region sandwiched between cadillac and ste-croix-du-mont with 344 ha/850 acres of Sémillon and Sauvignon vines in production on clay limestone soils in 2012. The wines of Loupiac were first cited in the 13th century (the Loupiac region was once much bigger), although in much of the 20th century the wines failed to fetch the prices necessary to justify truly meticulous winemaking. The best vineyards are on clay-limestone slopes overlooking the river and are well situated to benefit from noble rot, provided producers are prepared to take the necessary risks. Good Loupiac such as that produced at Domaine du Noble and Chx du Cros and Loupiac-Gaudiet is generally deeply coloured, early maturing, and noticeably full bodied; the use of new oak became gradually more common from the late 1980s (see sauternes for more details).