Appellation
Collioure
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedRoséWhite
Languedoc-Roussillon · Recognised on 3 December 1971
Key points
- Hand harvest; any enrichment is forbidden.
- At most 40 hl/ha; at least 12% natural alcohol (11.5% for rosé).
- Same communes as Banyuls: Collioure is dry, Banyuls a vin doux naturel.
Grape varieties
Red
CarignanGrenache NoirMourvèdreSyrah
Accessory varieties: Cinsaut, Counoise (grape entry not yet written)
At least 2 grapes in the blend
Rosé
CarignanGrenache GrisGrenache NoirMourvèdreSyrah
Accessory varieties: Cinsaut, Counoise (grape entry not yet written)
At least 2 grapes in the blend
White
Grenache BlancGrenache GrisMacabeuMarsanneRoussanneTourbatVermentino
Accessory varieties: Carignan Blanc, Muscat à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria
Muscat à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria · 5% at most of the vines in each plot
Blend: same proportion rules as for the vines (Muscats ≤ 5%)
Production rules
40
hl/ha
Maximum yield
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Reds: until at least 15 May; whites: until at least 15 February
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 136 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- 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
- Red
- deeply coloured
- ripe fruit, spice
- marked tannic presence
- Rosé
- fresh fruit
- elegant and fresh
- generous
- White
- Honey
- rich and generous
- mostly floral
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
7 December 2011
Decree no. 2011-1826 of 7 December 2011 on the AOC “Collioure” (JORF no. 0284 of 8 December 2011, page 20764, text no. 52). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 3 December 1971 for red wines; rosés recognised in 1991, whites in 2003.
Labelling terms
- No grape name on the label
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Collioure »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
The dry wines of the Côte Vermeille, from the four communes of Banyuls-sur-Mer, Cerbère, Collioure and Port-Vendres, where the Pyrenees drop into the Mediterranean. The same vineyard of schist terraces, held up by dry-stone walls, also makes the vins doux naturels of the Banyuls AOC: Collioure was created in 1971 for the dry reds, to avoid any confusion with Banyuls, then extended to rosés in 1991 and whites in 2003. Hand harvesting, low yields and blends of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Syrah for the reds.
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Collioure
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