Cadillac

Cadillac is a commune in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France. It lies directly across the Garonne river from Sauternes, which is known for producing sweet dessert wines under the Cadillac AOC designation. The name of the commune was adopted by Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, the founder of Detroit and Governor of Louisiana, on his arrival to what is now the United States. The Cadillac division of General Motors, and Cadillac, Michigan are named after him.

The gateway to the wine region of Sauternes which is known for its exceptional botrytized dessert wines. Sauternes is extremely risky and expensive to make, because harvest must take place quite late, when there is the danger of rain or frost. In some years, either because of the weather or the failure of botrytis to arrive at all, no Sauternes is made. Even in the best conditions, yields are low. Chateau D’Yquem, the region’s most famous estate, preserves its superlative reputation by limiting yields to as little as 9 hl/ha (wine per hectare of vineyard).