Abouriou

Abouriou is a red grape of south west France, concentrated in the Côtes du Marmandais on the Garonne between Bordeaux and Agen. Its name comes from an Occitan word meaning early, and that is the single fact that explains it: it ripens well before almost anything grown near it, often in the middle of August.

Early ripening buys safety in a region that can lose a late crop to autumn rain, and it comes at the usual cost. The wine is deeply coloured and firmly tannic but low in acidity, so it can feel heavy and short without the lift that a later ripening grape would have kept. It is usually blended, with Cabernet Franc, Merlot or Syrah supplying that freshness.

It travelled further than its obscurity suggests. It was grown in California under the name Early Burgundy, which is unrelated to Burgundy in every respect, and it is a parent of Egiodola, a modern crossing planted in southern France and Portugal. Plantings at home are small and still falling, and a varietal bottling is a local speciality rather than a commercial style.