Appellation
Vacqueyras
Identity card
VillageAOPRedRoséWhite
Rhône Valley › Southern Rhône · Recognised on 9 August 1990
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Mostly red; rosés and whites remain rare.
- At most 36 hl/ha; at least 12.5% natural alcohol for red, 12% otherwise.
- Reds released from 31 January, whites and rosés from 15 January.
Grape varieties
Red
Allowed as a small share of the red wine: Bourboulenc, Vaccarèse (grape entry not yet written), Carignan, Cinsaut, Clairette, Clairette Rose, Counoise (grape entry not yet written), Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Marsanne, Muscardin (grape entry not yet written), Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Roussanne, Terret Noir, Viognier (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Grenache Noir · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Mourvèdre, Syrah · at least 20% of the holding's vines
White varieties: at most 5% of the vines
Blend: Grenache with Syrah and/or Mourvèdre making up most of it
Rosé
Grenache NoirCinsautMourvèdreSyrah
Accessory varieties: Bourboulenc, Vaccarèse (grape entry not yet written), Carignan, Clairette, Clairette Rose, Counoise (grape entry not yet written), Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Marsanne, Muscardin (grape entry not yet written), Piquepoul Noir (grape entry not yet written), Roussanne, Terret Noir, Viognier (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Each principal variety at most 80% of the vines
White
Allowed varieties
BourboulencClairetteGrenache BlancMarsanneRoussanneViognier
Each variety at most 80% of the vines
Production rules
36
hl/ha
Maximum yield
Minimum ageing: Until 15 January after the harvest (reds), 1 January (others)
- 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 ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Broad terraces of the Ouvèze, 60 to 160 m up
- Soils: Garrigues: red clay-limestone with pebbles; safre sandstone
- Climate: Hot, dry Mediterranean; mistral over 100 days a year
Wine style
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
7 December 2020
Arrêté du 7 décembre 2020 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Vacqueyras » (JORF du 10 décembre 2020 ; BO du MAA du 10 décembre 2020). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 9 août 1990 (JORF du 15 août 1990).
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Vacqueyras »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
A southern Rhône cru covering the communes of Vacqueyras and Sarrians, in the Vaucluse, between Gigondas to the north and Beaumes-de-Venise to the south-east, on the left bank of the Ouvèze. The vineyard lies mostly on broad stony river terraces between 60 and 160 metres above sea level. Formerly part of Côtes du Rhône Villages, the appellation became a cru in its own right in 1990. It makes mostly Grenache-based reds, with a little rosé and white.
Mini-challenge
Vacqueyras
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