Blanquette de Limoux
| Blanquette de Limoux | |
|---|---|
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| Year of establishment: | 1938 |
| Country: | France |
| Cultivation climate: | Mediterranean, Atlantic |
| Soil types: | light clay and limestone soils, gravel |
| Planted acreage: | 1700 ha. (In accordance with AOC Ancestrale and Crémant) |
| Grape varieties: | Merlot, Côt, Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Pinot Noir, Mauzac, Chenin, Chardonnay |
| Wine quantity: | 82,000 hl / 10 million bottles |
The Blanquette de Limoux is a French sparkling wine from Languedoc . It has been a vin d'appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) since February 18, 1938 . The AOC blanquette de Limoux was the first AOC in the Languedoc wine-growing region.
In contrast to the Blanquette méthode ancestrale, a distinction is made between the Blanquette de Limoux brute and the méthode ancestrale , an old manufacturing process. In addition, a third sparkling wine is marketed in the Limoux wine-growing region with the Crémant de Limoux .
Geography and climate
The appellation is located in the Aude department in the Occitanie region near the city of Limoux , in the west of the AOC Corbières . The southern slopes of the hills are reserved for the appellation and consist of a combination of lime-rich layered silicate and slightly pebbly soils.
Limoux's climate allows the production of white grape varieties. The area is influenced by the Mediterranean as well as the Atlantic Ocean, which ensure sufficient sunshine and well-distributed rainfall. In addition, the vineyards are located at a height of approx. 160 meters, which means that there is a clearer distinction between day and night temperatures and a lower annual mean temperature than in nearby Narbonne.
history
Although the viticulture in Limoux has been documented in writing since 931, the first mentions of sparkling wine did not appear until 1531. At that time, monks of the Saint-Hilaire Abbey had already mastered the production of Blanquette de Limoux.
Grape varieties
The Blanquette de Limoux is made from three grape varieties:
- Mauzac , which has the largest share with a minimum of 90%
- Chardonnay
- Chenin Blanc
For the Blanquette de Limoux according to the méthode ancestrale , only Mauzac is used. For the Blanquette brute, the three grape varieties mentioned with a share of 90% Mauzac are used, while the Crémant, since an amendment to the law in 2004, 50–70% Chardonnay, 20–40% Chenin Blanc and max. Contains 20% of the minor varieties Mauzac and Pinot Noir .
Vinification
- With the Blanquette, the first fermentation takes place separately for the different grape varieties. This gives the base wines as a basis for later blending. The blend is a Tiragelikör added to the secondary fermentation to bring about, which occurs in the bottle. After 9 months of ripening, the depot is removed and the shipping dosage, which defines the flavor, is added. Then the bottle is corked and provided with its equipment.
- With the Blanquette Méthode dioise ancestrale , only a single spontaneous fermentation takes place. After the must has drained from the press , the base wine is cooled down to a temperature of around 10 ° C in coolable stainless steel tanks. The alcoholic fermentation does not start immediately, but fifteen to twenty days later in order to better extract the aromas from the grape material. Then the single-stage slow fermentation begins, which can last until the end of January after the harvest. The must is fermented to such an extent that it still contains enough residual sugar for the production of the perlage. It is roughly filtered using kieselguhr and then bottled without adding any sugar or yeast. There, the further alcoholic fermentation takes place in closed bottles with the indigenous yeasts from the region and ends a few months later when the pressure in the bottles reaches 500 to 700 kPa. This creates completely natural sparkling wines, which have a great finesse due to the fine perlage and the nutmeg aromas. The sparkling wine contains less than 7% alcohol.
Approved municipalities
In 3 amendments to the law between 1938 and 1955, 42 communes in the Aude département were authorized to produce Blanquette de Limoux: Alet-les-Bains , Ajac , Antugnac , Bouriège , Campagne-sur-Aude , Cassaignes , Castelreng , Cépie , Conilhac- de-la-Montagne , Couiza , Cournanel , Coustaussa , La Digne-d'Amont , La Digne-d'Aval , Espéraza , Fa , Festes-et-Saint-André , Gaja-et-Villedieu , Gardie , Ladern-sur- Lauquet , La Serpent , Limoux , Loupia , Luc-sur-Aude , Magrie , Malras , Montazels , Pauligne , Peyrolles , Pieusse , Pomas , Roquetaillade , Rouffiac-d'Aude , Saint-Couat-du-Razès , Saint-Hilaire , Saint -Polycarpe , Serres , Tourreilles , Vendémies , Villar-Saint-Anselme , Villebazy and Villelongue-d'Aude .
literature
- Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . 3. Edition. Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8338-0691-9 .
- Pierre Galet : Cépages et Vignobles de France . 1st edition. Lavoisier Publishing House, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 .
- Benoît France (ed.): Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France . 1st edition. Solar publishing house, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-263-03242-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Official website of the Limoux appellation ( Memento des Originals of December 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
