Appellation
Limoux
Identity card
AOPRedWhiteSparkling
Languedoc-Roussillon · Recognised on 18 February 1938
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Still whites fermented in oak barrels, hand-picked.
- Reds: Merlot 45–70% of the blend, at least three grapes.
- Mauzac: the only grape of the méthode ancestrale.
Grape varieties
Red
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon (35% at most of the blend)
Merlot · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Cot, Grenache Noir, Syrah · at least 30% of the holding's vines
Merlot · 45 to 70% of the blend
Cot, Grenache Noir, Syrah · at least 20% of the blend
At least three grapes in every blend
Sparkling
Accessory varieties: Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc
Blanquette de Limoux: Mauzac, at least 90% of the vines and of the cuvée
Méthode ancestrale: Mauzac alone
Production rules
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
RedWhite
50
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
Sparkling
60
hl/ha
Maximum yield
Minimum ageing: Still wines: at least until 15 April 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: Hills at 100–250 m (north), slopes at 300–500 m in the south
- Soils: Mostly molasse; red Sparnacian clays in the south
- Climate: Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pyrenean influences
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
5 December 2011
Decree no. 2011-1788 of 5 December 2011 on the AOC “Limoux” (JORF no. 0283 of 7 December 2011, text no. 65); specification published in BO agri no. 49 of 9 December 2011. Appellation first recognised by the decree of 18 February 1938 for sparkling wines and by the decree of 21 February 1959 for still wines.
Labelling terms
- Sparkling: "blanquette de Limoux" or "méthode ancestrale"
- Blanquette: second fermentation in bottle, at least 9 months on lees
- Méthode ancestrale: a single fermentation, no tirage liqueur
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Limoux »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
An appellation of 41 communes of the Aude, around Limoux, along the Aude valley between the Pyrenean foothills, the Razès and the Corbières, where Atlantic, Mediterranean and Pyrenean influences meet. It covers still whites fermented in oak, reds built on Merlot, and white sparkling wines. Mauzac dominates the "blanquette de Limoux", made by second fermentation in bottle, and alone makes the "méthode ancestrale", by a single fermentation. Crémant de Limoux is a separate appellation.
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