Limoux wine

The Blanquette de Limoux is a French sparkling wine from the Languedoc. He's since 18 February 1938, a vin d' appellation d' Origine (AOC ). The AOC blanquette de Limoux AOC was the first of the Languedoc wine region.

A distinction is Blanquette de Limoux brute in contrast to Blanquette méthode ancestral according to the méthode ancestral, that is an old manufacturing process. In addition, Limoux is still marketed with the Crémant de Limoux, a third sparkling wine in the wine region.

Geography and climate

The appellation is situated in the Aude department in the Languedoc- Roussillon region near the town of Limoux, in the west of AOC Corbières. The southern slopes of the hills are reserved for the appellation and consist of a combination of lime-rich layer silicate and slightly gravelly soils.

The climate of Limoux allows the production of white grape varieties. The area is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Atlantic Ocean, which provide for a sufficient duration of sunshine and well-distributed rainfall. In addition, the vineyards are at an altitude of about 160 meters, creating a sharper distinction between day and night temperatures, and lower mean annual temperatures than in nearby Narbonne is given.

History

Although the wine is on record since the year 931 in Limoux, there is the first mention of the sparkling wine until the year 1531. Monks of the Abbey of Saint -Hilaire -dominated at that time already the production of Blanquette de Limoux.

Varieties

The Blanquette de Limoux is made from three grape varieties:

• Mauzac, which constitutes the largest share with a minimum of 90 %
• Chardonnay
• Chenin Blanc

For the Blanquette de Limoux according to the méthode ancestral exclusively Mauzac used. For the brute Blanquette the three varieties mentioned with a share of 90 % Mauzac be used during the Crémant since a new law in 2004 50-70 % Chardonnay, 20-40 % Chenin Blanc and 20% of max Nebensorten Mauzac and Pinot Noir contains.

Winemaking

• In the Blanquette the first fermentation takes place separately for different varietals. This gives the basic wines, as the basis for the later blending. The cuvée is a Tiragelikör added to induce the second fermentation, which takes place in the bottle. After 9 months of ripening time, the depot is removed and the expedition liqueur, which characterizes the flavor supplied. The bottle is then corked and provided with their equipment.
• In the Blanquette Méthode dioise ancestrale, a single spontaneous fermentation takes place exclusively. After the expiration of the must of the winepress of the base wine in stainless steel tanks can be cooled is cooled down to a temperature of about 10 ° C. The alcoholic fermentation does not start immediately, but fifteen to twenty days later to extract the flavors from the grapes better. Then the one-step slow fermentation, which can take after harvest until the end of January begins. The must is fermented to the extent that it still contains enough residual sugar for the production of bubbles. He is coarsely filtered using diatomaceous earth and then bottled without further addition of sugar or yeast in the bottle. There, the more alcoholic fermentation takes place in closed bottles with indigenous yeasts from the region and ends a few months later, when the pressure in the bottle reaches 500 to 700 kPa. This creates a very natural sparkling wines, which have a great finesse by the fine bubbles and nutmeg flavors. The sparkling wine contains less than 7 % alcohol.

Approved communities

Overall, legislative amendments between 1938 and 1955 42 municipalities in the Aude department for the production of Blanquette de Limoux were divided into 3 approved: Alet -les- Bains, Ajac, Antugnac, Bouriège, Campagne -sur -Aude, Cassaignes, Castelreng, Cépie, Conilhac- de -la -Montagne, Couiza, Cournanel, Coustaussa, La Digne d' amont, La Digne d' Aval, Espéraza, Fa, Fixed -et -Saint -André, Gaja -et- Villedieu, Gardie, loaders -sur- Lauquet, La Serpent, Limoux, Loupia, Luc -sur -Aude, Magrie, Malras, Montazels Pauligne, Peyrolles, Pieusse, Poma, Roquetaillade, Rouffiac -d'Aude, Saint- Couat -du- Razès Saint- Hilaire, Saint- Polycarpe, Serres, Tourreilles, Vendémies, Villar- Saint- Anselme, Villebazy and Villelongue d' Aude.