Côtes du Roussillon is an appellation contrôlée for red, white and rosé wines from the Roussillon wine region in southern France. It covers the eastern half of the administrative district of the Pyrénées-Orientales, on the eastern edge of the Pyrenees. The western half of the Pyrenees-Orientales is simply too mountainous for effective viticulture. In the Côtes du Roussillon wine-growing area is the Aspres sub-region.
This corresponds roughly to the Aspres nature park, an area that forms the transition between the lower Pyrenees and the coastal plain of Roussillon below. Only red wines can claim the title Les Aspres, and to obtain it, they must comply with slightly stricter production restrictions than those in force for standard Côtes du Roussillon wines. The typical Côtes du Roussillon red wine is based on the classic Languedoc-Roussillon and southern Rhone Valley Grape varieties, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, perhaps with some support from their less favoured and slightly rustic cousin, Carignan. Wines from older vineyards may even include a touch of Cinsaut and perhaps even the little known Lledoner Pelut (thought to be a mutation of Grenache Noir).
Cabernet Franc is one of the oldest red grape varieties in Bordeaux. The Libourne region is its terroir where it develops best. The terroirs of Saint-Emilion and Fronsac allow it to mature and develop its best range of aromas. It is also the majority in many blends. The very famous Château Cheval Blanc, for example, uses 60% Cabernet Franc. The wines produced with Cabernet Franc are medium in colour with fine tannins and subtle aromas of small red fruits and spices. When blended with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, it brings complexity and a bouquet of aromas to the wine. It produces fruity wines that can be drunk quite quickly, but whose great vintages can be kept for a long time. It is an earlier grape variety than Cabernet Sauvignon, which means that it is planted as far north as the Loire Valley. In Anjou, it is also used to make sweet rosé wines. Cabernet Franc is now used in some twenty countries in Europe and throughout the world.
red wines from the region of Côtes du Roussillon go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, pasta or veal such as recipes of tournedos rossini with port sauce, lasagna bolognese or marinated veal skewers with herbs.
On the nose in the region of Côtes du Roussillon often reveals types of flavors of blackberry, oaky or red fruit and sometimes also flavors of cherry, earth or non oak. In the mouth in the region of Côtes du Roussillon is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
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