Blanquette of Limoux

The blanquette of Limoux is a Vin sparkling French of the Languedoc, it is a wine of name of controlled origin (AOC) since 1938. The AOC blanquette of Limoux is the first AOC created in the vineyard of Languedoc.

One distinguishes the rough blanquette of Limoux known as and the blanquette of Limoux known as ancestral method . This wine belongs to the Vignoble of Limoux with the Creaming of Limoux.

Geography and climate

Located in the Department of the Aude and the area Languedoc-Roussillon it is produced in the surroundings of the town of Limoux, in the west of the Corbières. The southern slopes of the slopes are reserved for name and present a ground argilo-limestones combination light and stony.

The climate of Limoux is favorable to the production of white. The zone is influenced by the the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean getting an important sunning and a pluviometry distributed well in the year and sufficient.

History

He is regarded as the sparkling wine oldest with the world, he was mentioned for the first time in 1531 by the Moine S of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Hilaire. Tite-Live rented at the time Roman the white wines of Limoux which were not yet effervescent. They are the monks Benedictines of Saint-Hilaire who discover the transformation of the white wine into effervescent Vin. Writings attest manufacture and export of bottles of Blanquette coming from Saint-Hilaire.

The AOC blanquette of Limoux is one of the first AOC created in France. The surface of production is delimited as of 1929 and the decree which fixes the surface of production of the AOC leaves on February 18th 1938.

Type of vines

The blanquette of Limoux is manufactured starting from three type of vines:

the Mauzac is majority with at least 90%
the Chardonnay,
and the white Chenin.

For the blanquette of Limoux ancestral method, only Mauzac is used. For the rough blanquette, the three type of vines are used with 90% from Mauzac while creaming it has 70% of Mauzac and 30% of Chardonnay.

Wine making

The Blanquette and Creaming it has the same manufacturing processes. Only the blanquette ancestral method is vinified in a different way.

For the blanquette, a first Fermentation is carried out separately for various type of vines. Basic wines then are obtained that one assembles. To this assembly one adds a drawn-off liquid to cause the one second fermentation who is held out of bottle. It is during this second fermentation that the wine becomes effervescent. After 9 months of rest, the bottles are open to eliminate the deposit which remains. One adds then dose which gives the rough or medium dry character. The bottle is finally stopped of a final cork stopper.

For the blanquette ancestral method, fermentation is entirely natural and the setting out of bottle proceeds with the old woman of the the Moon of March. The produced wine contains less 7° of alcohol.

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