Appellation
Côtes de Provence
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedWhiteRosé
Provence · Recognised on 24 October 1977
Key points
- At most 55 hl/ha; at least 11% natural alcohol for all three colours.
- Rosé made up 89% of production in 2009.
- Reds and rosés: 2 grapes or more; principal grapes at least 50% of the blend.
Grape varieties
RedRosé
CinsautGrenache NoirMourvèdreSyrahTibouren
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Caladoc, Carignan, Clairette, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc, Vermentino, Barbaroux, Calitor
Cinsaut, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Tibouren · at least 70% of the holding's vines
Clairette, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc · 10% at most of the holding's vines
Clairette, Sémillon, Ugni Blanc, Vermentino · 20% at most of the holding's vines
Caladoc · 10% at most of the holding's vines
At least 2 principal grapes, none above 90%; rousseli also allowed (10% at most)
Barbaroux and Calitor: only vines planted before 31 July 1994
Production rules
55
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
- 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.
Terroir
- Soils: Limestone Provence west and north, crystalline south-east
- Lie of the land: Maures, Permian depression, limestone hills, upper Arc
- Climate: Mediterranean: 600-900 mm/yr; mistral strongest in the west
Wine style
- Rosé
- pale pink
- fruity or floral
- roundness and liveliness
- Red
- dark colour
- fruity or for long keeping
- keepers: black fruit, spice
- White
- Honey
- dry
- citrus, white flowers
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
27 April 2026
Arrêté du 27 avril 2026 (AGRT2606049A) homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « Côtes de Provence » (JORF du 30 avril 2026 ; BO agri du 7 mai 2026), qui remplace le texte homologué par l'arrêté du 4 juillet 2024. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 24 octobre 1977.
Labelling terms
- "Cru Sainte-Victoire", "Fréjus", "Pierrefeu": reds and rosés
- "Notre-Dame des Anges": reds and rosés; "La Londe": all three colours
- These names: at most 50 hl/ha (Pierrefeu red: 45)
- "Vin de Provence" may appear, beside the appellation name
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Côtes de Provence »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « Côtes de Provence » (BO n° 19 du 7 mai 2026)— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyVins de Provence — site officiel du Conseil interprofessionnel des vins de Provence (CIVP)— Conseil interprofessionnel des vins de Provence (CIVP)
In the Var, the Bouches-du-Rhône and one commune of the Alpes-Maritimes, from limestone Provence in the west and north to the crystalline Maures and Esterel in the south-east, the appellation makes mostly rosé — 89% of production in 2009, according to its specification — as well as reds and whites. Reds and rosés blend Cinsault, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Tibouren; five complementary geographical names refine the label.
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