Appellation
Maury
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedFortified
Languedoc-Roussillon · Recognised on 6 August 1936
Key points
- Two kinds: a dry red (40 hl/ha) and fortified vins doux naturels.
- Vin doux naturel: musts of at least 252 g/l, at most 30 hl of must/ha.
- Finished vin doux naturel: at least 15% actual alcohol and 45 g/l of sugars.
Grape varieties
Red
Accessory varieties: Lledoner Pelut (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Grenache Noir · 60 to 80% of the holding's vines
Dry red; the blend follows the vineyard proportion rules
Fortified
Grenache NoirGrenache BlancGrenache GrisMacabeuTourbat
Accessory varieties: Carignan, Syrah, Muscat à Petits Grains, Muscat of Alexandria
Grenat, tuilé: Grenache Noir at least 75% of vines and the majority of the blend
Ambré, blanc: Grenache Blanc and Gris, Macabeu, Tourbat; Muscats ≤ 20%
Production rules
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Dry 1 March, grenat and blanc 1 May (year +1); ambré, tuilé 1 March (year +3)
- 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 75 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: A 17 km synclinal corridor between two limestone ridges
- Soils: Black Albian schistose marls
- Climate: Transition: hot and dry to the east, cooler to the west
Wine style
- Red
- Forest floor
- dark, rich, powerful
- black and red fruit
- rounded tannins
- Fortified
- grenat: fruit, spice
- blanc: pear, flowers
- ambré, tuilé: oxidative
- rancio: dried fruit
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
23 November 2011
Décret n°2011-1623 du 23 novembre 2011 relatif à l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Maury » (JORF n°0272 du 24 novembre 2011, page 19759, texte n°72) ; vérifié en vigueur sur Légifrance le 2026-09-27 (« en vigueur au 26/09/2026 »), aucune abrogation ni modification postérieure trouvée. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 6 août 1936 pour les vins doux naturels — l'une des toutes premières AOC françaises.
Labelling terms
- Vin doux naturel: ambré, blanc, grenat or tuilé, one is compulsory
- "Hors d'âge" (ambré, tuilé): aged at least until 1 Sept of year +5
- "Rancio": an ambré or tuilé that has gained its taste
- Dry red: the word "sec" below the appellation name
- Vintage compulsory for the blanc and grenat terms
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Maury »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO)
- Official sourceRecueil du BO agri (semaine 47, 2011) contenant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Maury » homologué par le décret n° 2011-1623 du 23 novembre 2011— Ministère de l'agriculture — Bulletin officiel
- 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)
A vin doux naturel from the Roussillon hinterland, over four communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales on the black schist soils of the Rieu Maury valley, away from maritime influence. Recognised as early as 1936 for its Grenache-based vins doux naturels — a variety made compulsory at a 75% minimum by an 1908 municipal order — the appellation has also covered an exclusively red dry wine since 2011.
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Maury
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