(Decanter) - An investigation into whether certain Bordeaux wine labels mislead consumers has caused uncertainty among châteaux and merchants in the region.

Officials from the regional office dealing with fraud and consumer protection, Direccte, have been investigating whether some Bordeaux wine labels mislead consumers by using the ‘brand name’ of a château when the wine inside the bottle has not been produced solely by that estate or the grapes come from beyond its borders.

There has been a particular focus on wines that use the prefix ‘Bordeaux de’ plus the name of a specific château, according to an industry memo, dated 22 June 2018 and issued by Direccte and France’s national appellation body, INAO. The probe was also looking at whether appellation names had been misused, the memo said.

A spokesperson for INAO declined to comment beyond the contents of the note, citing that the issue was ongoing.