Médoc AOC
Médoc is an AOC for wine in the Bordeaux wine region of southwestern France, on the Left Bank of the Gironde estuary that covers the northern section of the viticultural strip along the Médoc peninsula. The zone is sometimes called Bas-Médoc (English: Low-Médoc), though this term is not permitted on any label. With few exceptions there is produced only red wine, and no white wine has the right to be called Médoc.
The term Médoc is often used in a geographical sense to refer to the whole Left Bank region, and as defined by the original Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO) decree of November 14, 1936, the appellation may be applied to all wine produced in the prescribed zone in the peninsula, but this is rare practice by estates within Médoc's sub-appellations as it carries lesser perceived prestige. Effectively it covers the northern third of the Médoc peninsula, defined by a border that runs from Saint-Yzans and Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil (at the northern edges of Haut-Médoc AOC and Saint-Estèphe AOC) in the south, to Soulac-sur-Mer in the north, although viticultural activity ends near Vensac. In all sixteen wine-producing communes are exclusive to Médoc, and Bégadan, Saint-Christoly, Ordonnac, Saint-Yzans and Saint-Germain-d'Esteuil have historically enjoyed a reputation level to communes of the northern Haut-Médoc.
Médoc
The Médoc (French pronunciation: [medɔk]; Gascon: Medòc [meˈðok]) is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux. Its name comes from (Pagus) Medullicus, or "country of the Medulli", the local Celtic tribe. The region owes its economic success mainly to the production of red wine; it is home to around 1,500 vineyards.
The area also has pine forests and long sandy beaches. The Médoc's geography is not ideal for wine growing, with its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean resulting in a comparatively mild climate and high rainfall making rot a constant problem. It is generally believed that the nature of the region's wine derives from the soil; although the terrain is flat, excellent drainage is a necessity and the increased amount of gravel in the soil allows heat to be retained, encouraging ripening, and extensive root systems.
Viticulture
With the exception of Château Haut-Brion from Graves, all of the red wines in the 1855 Classification are from the Médoc. Many of the Médoc wines that are not in this classification were classified using the Cru Bourgeois system until 2007. Following legal challenges this category was abolished, and reintroduced in 2010 as an annual "mark of quality" depending on independent annual assessment.
M-Doc
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M-Doc is a rap artist and producer who was signed to RCA Records and Smash Records in the 1990s. He scored minor chart success with the singles "Free" and "It's a Summer Thang" featuring Chantay Savage. He is currently the president of Indasoul Entertainment.
Career
Williams grew up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois and graduated from Whitney Young High School in 1987, where he played basketball and was nicknamed "Doc", because he liked basketball star Julius Erving. Williams stated that he started off with a group of friends on the South Side, and used to go to his basement, where his father had enough equipment to get some beats together. They made eight different songs, put them on tape, and sold them at their high schools by hand. The group was called "BP3", because all three members were basketball players.
Local producer Steve "Silk" Hurley heard one of the tapes, and the two collaborated to record "It's Percussion", with Hurley handling the music and Williams billed as "M-Doc" for the first time, rapping. The single came out on London's Jack Trax Records. He then signed with Smash Records and released his first album, Universal Poet, in 1991, which featured two singles "Are U Wid It?" (which sampled Prince's "I Wanna Be Your Lover") and "Whatever U Need".
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