Agenais is an IGP title covering red, white and rosé wines made in the Lot-et-Garonne department of southwest France. The department and its two rivers, Lot and Garonne, have long been an important trade route within France and, as such, there is a rich history of viticulture here. The official vineyard zone of Agenais overlaps with the AOC-level appellations Buzet, Cotes du Marmandais and Cotes de Duras.
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The IGP covers wines made throughout the whole of the Lot-et-Garonne department, save for a small corner that is instead covered by the Thezac-Perricard IGP. As the boundaries of the IGP are more administrative than geographical, it is perhaps not surprising that there is a wide diversity of terroir across the region, particularly in terms of soils.
In the north of Lot-et-Garonne, a large concentration of vineyards producing IGP Agenais wines can be found around Monflanquin, where undulating limestone hills provide vineyard sites with a range of mesoclimates. The other main area of production is in the southwest corner of the department, in sandier soils that are more reminiscent of neighboring Landes.
The overall climate in Lot-et-Garonne is more unifying, and can broadly be described as transitional, with influences from both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Rainfall is highest in the spring and fall, but warm summers offer good opportunities for ripening in well-chosen vineyard sites with ample exposure to sun and winds.
The Agenais IGP has a fairly small list of grape varieties, which betray its location between Bordeaux and Sud-Ouest France, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Tannat. Wines made in this part of France were previously labeled under the Vin de Pays category, which has been removed from French wine law in favor of the less-tarnished Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) category.
