Appellation
Terrasses du Larzac
Identity card
VillageAOPRed
Languedoc-Roussillon
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Red only: at most 45 hl/ha, at least 12% natural alcohol.
- At least three varieties in every wine, two of them principal.
- Released from 1 September of the year after the harvest.
Grape varieties
Red wine onlyCarignanGrenache NoirMourvèdreSyrah
Accessory varieties: Cinsaut, Counoise, Lledoner Pelut, Morrastel, Terret Noir
Carignan, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 75% of the holding's vines
Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 20% of the holding's vines
Cinsaut · 25% at most of the holding's vines
Counoise, Lledoner Pelut, Morrastel, Terret Noir · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Carignan, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 75% of the blend
Carignan · 50% at most of the blend
At least three varieties, two of them principal; none above 70% of the wine
Each principal variety: at most 75% of the vines
In italics, without a link: grapes with no entry yet.
Production rules
45
hl/ha
Maximum yield
12
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,400
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Until at least 15 August of the year after the harvest
- 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 90 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 13 % ABV across 85 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 95 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: Below the Larzac plateau, 40 to 450 m above sea level
- Soils: Terraces, scree, limestone, red sandstone, basalt
- Climate: 800 to 900 mm a year; cool nights, cooler than the coast
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
17 October 2014
Decree no. 2014-1200 of 17 October 2014 approving the specification of the AOC “Terrasses du Larzac” (JORF no. 0243 of 19 October 2014, page 17348; BO no. 43 of 23 October 2014). An AOC in its own right since October 2014, previously a named area of the Coteaux du Languedoc AOC.
Labelling terms
- The larger geographical unit "Languedoc" may appear
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Terrasses du Larzac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
Thirty-two communes of the Hérault, between the steep edges of the Larzac plateau to the north and the meeting of the Lergue and the Hérault to the south, with vines climbing from 40 to 450 metres. Once a named area of the Coteaux du Languedoc and an AOC in its own right since 2014, the appellation covers red wines only, blended from at least three varieties, two of them principal. The specification describes cool nights and mostly wines for keeping.
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Terrasses du Larzac
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