Languedoc (formerly Coteaux du Languedoc) is a key appellation used in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region of southern France. It covers Dry table wines of all three colors (red, white and rosé) from the entire region, but leaves Sweet and Sparkling wines to other more specialized appellations. About 75% of all Languedoc wines are red, with the remaining 25% split roughly down the middle between whites and rosés. The appellation covers most of the Languedoc region and almost a third of all the vineyards in France.
The typical Languedoc red wine is medium-bodied and Fruity. The best examples are slightly heavier and have darker, more savoury aromas, with notes of spice, undergrowth and leather. The Grape varieties used to make them are the classic southern French ones: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, often with a touch of Carignan or Cinsaut. The white wines of the appellation are made from Grenache Blanc, Clairette and Bourboulenc, with occasional use of Viognier, Marsanne and Roussanne from the Rhône Valley.
Mourvèdre noir is a grape variety originating from Spain. It produces a variety of grape specially used for wine making. It is rare to find this grape to eat on our tables. This variety of grape is characterized by medium to large bunches, and grapes of medium size. Mourvèdre noir can be found in several vineyards: South-West, Cognac, Bordeaux, Provence & Corsica, Rhône valley, Languedoc & Roussillon, Loire valley, Savoie & Bugey, Beaujolais.
wines from the region of Languedoc-Roussillon go well with generally quite well with dishes of beef, mature and hard cheese or pasta such as recipes of traditional hungarian goulash, gratin of giromon with bacon or pasta "carbonara" à la française.
On the nose in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon often reveals types of flavors of cream, walnut or black olive and sometimes also flavors of balsamic, savory or cedar. In the mouth in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon is a powerful with a nice balance between acidity and tannins.
National production from France’s wine harvest in 2023 has been estimated between 44 million and 47 million hectolitres this year, up from 45.4 million hectolitres in 2022. That would be in line with, or exceed, the five-year average. France appears to be doing better than Italy and Spain, which expect below-average volumes. Still, the French agriculture ministry emphasised the preliminary nature of its forecast, citing uncertainty around damage from downy mildew in Bordeaux and southwest ...
I’d like to say we took advantage of the lockdown and its related commotion to do a stock-take, explore new avenues, turn over intriguing stones, widen and deepen our drinking, taking careful notes as we went. Sadly, no. I won’t say we got stuck in a rut, but we did tend to stick with comfort wines – and “comfort”, in our case, means familiar. Regular readers of this quarterly column can probably guess the labels on the resulting empties. We have a wider range of comfort foods, I’m afraid, than ...
The Roussillon is home to a range of wine styles, at varying price points. Sweet fortified wines (vin doux naturel) used to dominate production, with still dry wines (vin sec) in the minority. In the last 30 years, however, this has completely changed, and vin sec now makes up the majority (80%) of the Roussillon’s output. The recent Wines of Roussillon tasting, held in London, not only highlighted many good quality dry wines being produced, but also cemented the idea that Roussillon whites are ...
