Appellation
Madiran
Identity card
RegionalAOPRed
South West France · Recognised on 10 July 1948
Key points
- Red only, from 37 communes in three départements.
- Tannat: at least 60% of the vines and of the blend.
- Compulsory destemming and ageing at least until 15 April, to soften the tannins.
Grape varieties
Red wine onlyTannat
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Fer Servadou, Manseng Noir
Tannat · at least 60% of the holding's vines
Tannat · at least 60% of the blend
Production rules
55
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11.5
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 April 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 67 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 12.5 % ABV across 63 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 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: Five north-south ridges (échines) west of the Adour
- Soils: Clay-limestone on molasse; boulbènes on gentle slopes
- Climate: Mild oceanic; warm, often dry summers and autumns; foehn
Wine style
- red and black fruit
- tannic and structured
- fresh finish
- good ageing potential
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
26 November 2025
Arrêté du 26 novembre 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Madiran » (JORF n°0280 du 29 novembre 2025, texte n°37 ; publié au Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculture le 11 décembre 2025), abrogeant l'arrêté du 13 novembre 2023. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 10 juillet 1948.
Labelling terms
- A registered lieu-dit may appear, in letters no larger than the appellation's
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Madiran »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Reference bookWine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours— Allen Lane / Ecco (HarperCollins)
Straddling the Gers, Hautes-Pyrénées and Pyrénées-Atlantiques départements, the appellation where Tannat — the compulsory principal variety, required to make up at least 60% of the blend — yields tannic, full-bodied red wines reputed for long ageing. Micro-oxygenation was developed here in the early 1990s to soften its tannin.
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Madiran
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