Appellation
Béarn
Identity card
AOPRedRoséWhite
South West France · Recognised on 17 October 1975
Key points
- Three sectors: Salies and Bellocq, around Pau, a loop of the Adour.
- Tannat: at least half of every red, a quarter of every rosé.
- White: at least half Raffiat de Moncade.
Grape varieties
Red
Cabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonTannat
Accessory varieties: Fer Servadou, Manseng Noir
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat · at least 80% of the holding's vines
Tannat · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Tannat · at least 50% of the blend
Courbu Noir is also allowed as an accessory
Rosé
Cabernet FrancCabernet SauvignonTannat
Accessory varieties: Fer Servadou, Manseng Noir
Tannat · at least 20% of the holding's vines
Tannat · at least 25% of the blend
Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tannat · at least 70% of the blend
Courbu Noir also allowed as an accessory; accessories at most 30% of the vines
White
Gros MansengPetit MansengRaffiat de Moncade (grape entry not yet written)
Accessory varieties: Camaralet de Lasseube, Courbu, Lauzet, Petit Courbu, Sauvignon Blanc (30% at most of the holding's vines)
Raffiat de Moncade · at least 50% of the blend
Raffiat de Moncade must be present among the vines
Production rules
50
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
Minimum ageing: Reds: at least until 1 March 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 148 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 14.5 % ABV across 97 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: Three hillside sectors in the foothills, steep west slopes
- Soils: Molasse, sands, pebbles, flysch: mostly acid soils
- Climate: Wet oceanic; dry foehn in summer and early autumn
Wine style
- Red
- good tannic potential
- fruit to the fore
- complexity with age
- Rosé
- fresh and supple
- small red berries
- citrus
- White
- freshness and richness
- fruity
- floral
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
14 April 2025
Order of 14 April 2025 approving the specification of the AOC “Béarn” (JORF no. 0091 of 16 April 2025, text no. 53; published in the Bulletin officiel of the Ministry of Agriculture on 24 April 2025). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 17 October 1975.
Labelling terms
- The larger geographical unit "Sud-Ouest" may appear
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Béarn »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
The appellation of the Béarn's three historic wine-growing pockets in the Pyrenean foothills: around Salies-de-Béarn and Bellocq in the west, south and west of Pau, and in a loop of the Adour to the north-east, 74 communes in all. Reds and rosés rest on Tannat and the Cabernets; whites must include Raffiat de Moncade, at least half of every blend.
Mini-challenge
Béarn
3 questions on Béarn, all answered right, and the appellation is mastered in your Atlas.
Preparing the mini-challenge…