Of White wines, those made in the canton of Grave, are most esteemed at Bordeaux.  The best crops are, 1. Pontac, which formerly belonged to M. de Pontac, but now to M. de Lamont.  He makes forty tons, which sell at four hundred livres, new. 2. St. Brise, belonging to M. de Pontac; thirty tons, at three hundred and fifty livres. 3. De Carbonius, belonging to the Benedictine monks, who make fifty tons, and never selling till three or four years old, get eight hundred livres the ton.  Those made in the three parishes next above Grave, and more esteemed at Paris, are, 1. Sauterne.  The best crop belongs to M. Diquem at Bordeaux, or to M. de Salus, his son-in-law; one hundred and fifty tons, at three hundred livres, new, and six hundred livres, old.  The next best crop is M. de Fillotte’s, one hundred tons, sold at the same price. 2. Prignac.  The best is the President du Roy’s, at Bordeaux.  He makes one hundred and seventy-five tons, which sell at three hundred livres, new, and six hundred livres, old.  Those of 1784, for their extraordinary quality, sell at eight hundred livres. 3. Barsac.  The best belongs to the President Pichard, who makes one hundred and fifty tons, at two hundred and eighteen livres, new, and six hundred livres, old.  Sauterne is the pleasantest; next Prignac, and lastly Barsac:  but Barsac is the strongest; next Prignac, and lastly Sauterne; and all stronger than Grave.  There are other good crops made in the same parishes of Sauterne, Prignac, and Barsac; but none as good as these.  There is a virgin wine, which, though made of a red grape, is of a light rose color, because, being made without pressure, the coloring matter of the skin does not mix with the juice.  There are other white wines, from the preceding prices down to seventy-five livres.  In general, the white wines keep longest.  They will be in perfection till fifteen or twenty years of age.  The best vintage now to be bought, is of 1784; both of red and white.  There has been no other good year since 1779.  The celebrated vineyards before mentioned, are plains, as is generally the canton of Medoc, and that of the Grave.  The soil of Hautbrion, particularly, which I examined, is a sand, in which is near as much round gravel or small stone, and very little loam:  and this is the general soil of Medoc.  That of Pontac, which I examined also, is a little different.  It is clayey, with a fourth or fifth of fine rotten stone; and at two feet depth, it becomes all a rotten stone.  M. de Lamont tells me, he has a kind of grape without seeds, which I did not formerly suppose to exist; but I saw at Marseilles dried raisins from Smyrna without seeds.  I see in his farm at Pontac, some plants of white clover, and a good deal of yellow:  also some small peach trees in the open ground.  The principal English wine merchants at Bordeaux, are Jernon, Barton, Johnston, Foster, Skinner, Copinger, and M’Cartey:  the chief French wine merchants, are Feger, Nerac, Bruneaux Jauge, and Du Verget.  Desgrands, a wine-broker, tells me they never mix the wines of first quality:  but that they mix the inferior ones to improve them.  The smallest wines make the best brandy.  They yield about a fifth or sixth.