Appellation
Lirac
Identity card
VillageAOPRedRoséWhite
Rhône Valley › Southern Rhône · Recognised on 14 October 1947
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- The first Côtes du Rhône cru allowed in all three colours.
- At most 41 hl/ha; at least 12.5% natural alcohol for red, 12% otherwise.
- Sorting the harvest is compulsory; rosés are mostly made by saignée.
Grape varieties
RedRosé
Grenache NoirSyrahMourvèdreCinsaut
Accessory varieties: Carignan, Clairette Rose, Counoise (grape entry not yet written), Grenache Gris, Marsanne, Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Roussanne, Ugni Blanc, Viognier
Grenache Noir · at least 40% of the holding's vines
Syrah, Mourvèdre · at least 25% of the holding's vines
Carignan · 10% at most of the holding's vines
White varieties: at most 5% of the vines for red, 20% for rosé
The principal varieties make up most of the blend
White
ClairetteGrenache BlancBourboulencRoussanne
Accessory varieties: Marsanne, Piquepoul Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Viognier (30% at most of the holding's vines)
Each principal variety at most 60% of the vines, each accessory one at most 25%
The principal varieties make up most of the blend
Production rules
41
hl/ha
Maximum yield
- 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.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Terraces and slopes at 50–200 m on the Rhône's right bank
- Soils: Red clay with large rolled pebbles; loess and clay-limestone
- Climate: Dry Mediterranean, under 700 mm; mistral 180 days a year
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
4 July 2024
Arrêté du 4 juillet 2024 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Lirac » (JORF du 7 juillet 2024 ; BO du MASA du 18 juillet 2024). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 14 octobre 1947.
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Lirac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Tavel »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
A southern Rhône cru on the river's right bank, in the Gard, covering four communes: Lirac, Roquemaure, Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas and Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, neighbours of Tavel. Its vines run from 50 to 200 metres, from high clay terraces strewn with large rolled pebbles to the loess or clay-limestone soils of the slopes. Recognised in 1947, following a 1945 ruling by the court at Uzès, the appellation was, according to its specification, the first Côtes du Rhône cru allowed to make all three colours. It produces mainly Grenache-based red blends, along with rosés and whites.
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Lirac
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