Graves (wine region) in this area. At that time, the Médoc subregion north of the city Bordeaux still consisted of marshland unsuitable for viticulture, while Graves were naturally better-drained. Château Pape Clément, founded at the turn of the 14th century by the future Pope Clement V, was the first named chateaux in all of Bordeaux. In 1663, Samuel Pepys' mention of Château Haut-Brion was the first recorded mention of French claret in London. After Médoc was drained by the Dutch in mid-17th century, Médoc gradually took over the role as the source of the most prized Bordeaux wines. In the Bordeaux Wine Official
French wine French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of France's regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times. The wines produced range from expensive high-end wines sold internationally to more modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines were during the post war period. Two concepts central to higher end French wines are the notion of "terroir", which