The Domaine de L'Espagnette of Malepère of Languedoc-Roussillon

Discovering the wine region of Malepère

Malepere is an appellation of red and rosé wines from an area immediately Southwest of Carcassonne in the Languedoc-Rousillon wine region of southern France. The appellation was created as VDQS Côtes de la Malepere in January 1983 and was promoted to FullAOC status in 2007, under the simpler name Malepere. As with the stylistically similar Cabardes appellation (directly to the North), Malepere wines are made from an eclectic combination of Bordeaux and Languedoc grapes. Merlot is the most widely used, combined with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Grenache, Syrah and Cinsaut.

Malepere wines come from a Warm, DryMediterraneanClimate with a relatively mild winter. They are grown on clay and limestone Rich soils - similar to those of Blanquette de Limoux, located directly south. The environment here is not typical of the Languedoc (it is more like that of south-west France), as it is divided from the rest of the region by the hills of the CentralAude administrative area. This short chain of Pyrenean foothills reaches a height of 600 metres immediately east of Carcassonne, which creates a slightly different climate.