The Premières Côtes de Bordeaux AOC (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) was defined by the French government in 1937 as an area of 8,400 acres spread over 37 communes on the right banks of the river Garonne, forming a narrow strip of vineyards some 37 miles long and 3 miles wide from the north of Bordeaux to Langon.

The average annual crush is 75,000 tons from the appellation's 300 wine growers.
The soil is a base of limestone covered by stony gravel on the high points, clayey-limestone in the middle areas of the slopes and fine gravel mixed with silica at the foot of the hillsides. The climate is tempered by the proximity of the river and the south, south-west facing slopes enjoy a very high level of sunshine.

Château Carignan is located at Carignan de Bordeaux, 10km to the east of Bordeaux. The dominant grape variety, as for the other right bank Appellations (Saint Emilion and Pomerol), is Merlot. This variety is in its element on the clayey limestone hillsides and offers supple, well rounded and highly fruity wines.

A great deal of technical progress has been made throughout the Côtes de Bordeaux (the 5 Côtes - Côtes de Blaye, Côtes de Bourg, Premières Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Castillon and Côtes de Francs - represent 15% of the entire Bordeaux vineyard) and the wines' excellent value and quality have made them much sought after.