Appellation
La Clape
Identity card
VillageAOPRedWhite
Languedoc-Roussillon
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Red: at most 42 hl/ha, at least 12.5% natural alcohol; white: 52 and 12%
- Whites: Bourboulenc compulsory, at least 30% of the blend.
- Reds released from 1 September of the year after the harvest
Grape varieties
Red
Accessory varieties: Carignan, Cinsaut
Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 70% of the holding's vines
Grenache Noir · at least 20% of the holding's vines
Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 20% of the holding's vines
At least two principal varieties, making up most of the blend
No variety above 70%, in the vineyard or in the blend
White
BourboulencClairetteGrenache BlancMarsannePiquepoul BlancRoussanneVermentino
Accessory varieties: Macabeu, Terret Blanc, Viognier
Bourboulenc · at least 40% of the holding's vines
Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc · at least 60% of the holding's vines
Bourboulenc · at least 30% of the blend
Viognier · 10% at most of the holding's vines
At least two principal varieties, making up most of the blend
No variety above 80% of the blend
Production rules
4,400
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Red
42
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
White
52
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
Minimum ageing: Reds: until at least 15 August of the year after the harvest
- 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 164 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- 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.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Limestone massif, once an island, rising to 214 m
- Climate: Mediterranean, almost semi-arid: under 500 mm a year
- Cers wind; over 3,000 hours of sun a year
Wine style
- Red
- Pine resin
- Eucalyptus
- Garrigue
- deep colour
- firm tannins
- White
- white flowers, fruit
- balsamic notes
- roundness and acidity
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
24 October 2024
Order of 24 October 2024 approving the specification of the AOC “La Clape” (JORF no. 0259 of 31 October 2024, text no. 28; BO no. 45 of 7 November 2024), repealing decree no. 2015-1389 of 31 October 2015. An AOC in its own right since 2015, previously a complementary geographical name of the Languedoc AOC; made a VDQS in 1951.
Labelling terms
- The larger geographical unit "Languedoc" may appear
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « La Clape »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
Six communes of the Aude around the limestone massif of La Clape, between Narbonne and the Mediterranean; its specification notes that it was an island until the 13th century. Made a VDQS as early as 1951 and formerly a named area of the Languedoc AOC, La Clape covers red and white wines only. Whites blend at least two principal varieties, always including Bourboulenc; reds are built on Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah and are aged until at least 15 August of the year after the harvest.
Mini-challenge
La Clape
3 questions on La Clape, all answered right, and the appellation is mastered in your Atlas.
Preparing the mini-challenge…