Wines made from Marsanne grapes of Limoux
Discover the best wines made with Marsanne as a single variety or as a blend of Limoux.
Marsanne is a white grape variety that originated in Montélimar in the Drôme, several centuries ago. Marsanne is also found in Cassis, Savoie, Languedoc-Roussillon and Saint-Péray in the Ardèche, where it produces remarkable sparkling wines. The warm, sunny climate of the Rhone Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence, as well as the dry, stony soil, are ideal conditions for its development. Its bunches are quite large and provide small, juicy berries that are sensitive to grey rot and strong winds. These two grape varieties complement each other perfectly: together they give light wines with little acidity, aromas of yellow fruit, white fruit and flowers with notes of honey and liquorice. This is for example what the appellations Saint-Péray, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes-du-Vallée du Rhône, Corbières, or Cassis express... which represent about 700 hectares.
Limoux is a relatively New appellation (created in 2003) in the eastern Part of the Aude region of Southern France, which applies to both red and white wines. The vineyards extend around the town that gave it its name, in the foothills of the Pyrenees east of the Languedoc-Roussillon/corbieres">Corbières and south of Carcassonne. Historically, this region is best known for its Sparkling wines, which are produced and sold under the appellations of Blanquette de Limoux and Crémant de Limoux. The vineyards here are higher and cooler than those of any other appellation in the Languedoc-Roussillon, and also further away from the moderating temperature influences of the Mediterranean.
As one of the largest wine making regions in the world, it is not surprising that the Rhône Valley is home to some exceptional wines and when it comes to deciding on which place to visit, you are spoilt for choice. If you’re thinking of taking a trip, we have listed a few of our favourite village/vineyard sites to help you have an unforgettable experience, while sampling the finest wines. Top vineyard sites for red wines The Southern Rhône produces a wide range of premium wines, with red ...
Find Matt Walls’ 22 top-value northern Rhône whites below, and look out for his top 52 northern Rhône reds under £30 which will be published on 11th October. The northern Rhône produces just 5% of the total volume made in the broader Rhône Valley growing area. As demand for these wines increases, it’s not surprising to see prices ticking up. But it’s still possible to find some excellent wines retailing under £30 a bottle in the UK. Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for 22 great val ...
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 ...