Appellation
Banyuls
Identity card
RegionalAOPFortified
Languedoc-Roussillon · Recognised on 6 August 1936
Key points
- Mutage: neutral wine spirit (≥ 96% ABV), 5 to 10% of the must as pure alcohol.
- Musts of at least 252 g/l of sugar; at most 30 hl of must per ha.
- Finished wine: at least 15% actual alcohol and 45 g/l of sugars.
Grape varieties
Fortified
Grenache NoirGrenache GrisGrenache BlancMacabeuTourbat
Accessory varieties: Carignan, Cinsaut, Counoise (grape entry not yet written), Mourvèdre, Syrah, Muscat à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria, Marsanne, Roussanne, Vermentino, Carignan Blanc
Principal: Grenache Noir (rimage); Grenache Noir and Gris (traditionnel)
Ambré, blanc: Grenache Blanc and Gris, Macabeu, Tourbat; rosé: + Grenache Noir
Production rules
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Blanc, rimage: 1 May (year +1); ambré, traditionnel: 1 September (year +2)
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Terraces on dry-stone walls, up to 400 m
- Soils: Brown Cambrian schist: poor soils holding little water
- Climate: Windy Mediterranean, tramontane; under 650 mm a year
Wine style
- rimage: cherry, kirsch
- blanc: flowers, citrus
- ambré: candied fruit, wax
- traditionnel: prune, coffee
- rancio: walnut, roasting
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
4 July 2024
Arrêté du 4 juillet 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Banyuls » (JORF n°0160 du 7 juillet 2024, texte n°59 ; publié au Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculture et de la souveraineté alimentaire (BO du MASA) le 11 juillet 2024). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 6 août 1936.
Labelling terms
- One compulsory term: ambré, blanc, rosé, rimage or traditionnel
- Rimage: fortified on the skins, aged away from air
- Ambré, traditionnel: oxidative ageing; "hors d'âge": at least 5 years
- "Rancio": for an ambré or traditionnel that has gained its taste
- "Vin doux naturel" on the label; vintage for blanc, rimage, rosé
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Banyuls »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Banyuls » (BO n° 28 du 11 juillet 2024)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyVins du Roussillon — site officiel du Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR)— Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon (CIVR)
The vin doux naturel of the Côte Vermeille, over four communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales at the eastern tip of the Pyrenees, where the mountains run straight into the Mediterranean. Built on Grenache, fortified mid-fermentation, it comes in five designations (ambré, blanc, rosé, rimage, traditionnel) depending on grape colour and on whether the wine is aged oxidatively or shielded from air.
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Banyuls
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