Appellation
Corbières
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedWhiteRosé
Languedoc-Roussillon · Recognised on 24 December 1985
Key points
- Red: at most 48 hl/ha, at least 12% natural; white, rosé: 50 hl/ha, 11.5%
- Always a blend: at least two grapes for each colour.
- Carignan, a principal grape, contributes to the reds' structure.
Grape varieties
Red
CarignanGrenache NoirLledoner PelutMourvèdreSyrah
Allowed as a small share of the red wine: Cinsaut, Grenache Gris, Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Terret Noir
Grenache Noir, Lledoner Pelut, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Carignan · 50% at most of the holding's vines
Cinsaut · 20% at most of the holding's vines
Blend: principal grapes at least 40%, accessory ones at most 30%
At least 2 grapes; none above 80% of the blend
Rosé
CarignanCinsautGrenache NoirLledoner PelutMourvèdreSyrah
Accessory varieties: Grenache Gris, Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Terret Noir, Bourboulenc, Carignan Blanc, Clairette, Grenache Blanc, Macabeu, Marsanne, Piquepoul Blanc, Roussanne, Terret Blanc, Vermentino, Viognier
Cinsaut, Grenache Noir, Lledoner Pelut, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Carignan · 40% at most of the holding's vines
Grenache Gris · 50% at most of the holding's vines
Viognier · 5% at most of the holding's vines
Blend: principal grapes at least 40%; no grape above 80%
White
BourboulencGrenache BlancMacabeuMarsanneRoussanneVermentino
Accessory varieties: Carignan Blanc, Clairette, Muscat à Petits Grains, Piquepoul Blanc, Terret Blanc, Viognier
Carignan Blanc · 30% at most of the holding's vines
Clairette, Piquepoul Blanc, Terret Blanc · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Muscat à Petits Grains · 5% at most of the holding's vines
Viognier · 5% at most of the holding's vines
Blend: principal grapes at least 40%; no grape above 80%
Production rules
48
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
- 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 natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 79 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.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: A broken-up massif, from the Pic de Bugarach to the sea
- Soils: Mostly clay-limestone on molasse, stony
- Climate: Dry, windy Mediterranean; under 450 mm on the coast
Wine style
- Red
- firmly built, powerful
- red fruit, spice
- able to age
- Rosé
- floral and fruity
- fresh attack
- round
- White
- dry
- white flowers
- roundness and finesse
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
6 December 2019
Order of 6 December 2019 approving the specification of the AOC “Corbières” (JORF no. 0285 of 8 December 2019, text no. 55; published in the Bulletin officiel of the Ministry of Agriculture on 12 December 2019). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 24 December 1985.
Labelling terms
- A registered lieu-dit may follow the appellation name
- The label may add the larger geographical unit "Languedoc"
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Corbières » (BO n° 50 du 12 décembre 2019)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Corbières » (rouge)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyVins du Languedoc — site officiel du Conseil interprofessionnel des vins IGP et AOC du Languedoc (CIVL)— Conseil interprofessionnel des vins IGP et AOC du Languedoc (CIVL)
In the Corbières massif, between the upper Aude valley, the border of the Pyrénées-Orientales and the Mediterranean, the appellation covers 87 communes of the Aude. It makes dry reds, rosés and whites, always blended from at least two grapes. The reds rest on Carignan, Grenache, Lledoner Pelut, Mourvèdre and Syrah; the specification describes Carignan, suited to the hot, dry, windy climate, as a grape that contributes to the reds' structure.
Mini-challenge
Corbières
3 questions on Corbières, all answered right, and the appellation is mastered in your Atlas.
Preparing the mini-challenge…