Provence Flashcards
Where is Provence?
located in southeastern corner of France, stretches from Avignon in west to Nice in east, they have famous cities like Aix-en-Provence, Toulon, Marseille
What is the climate here?
Mediterranean
here experience the Mistral wind as well
What are the soils you can found here?
•limestone and clay-limestone
•crystalline
•sandstone and sand
•clay and clay-limestone
•marl and pebbly
What are the common grape varieties?
WHITE:
•Rolle (Vermentino)
•Clairette
•Bourboulenc
•Grenache Blanc
•Marsanne & Roussanne
• Viognier
•Ugni Blanc
•Sauvignon Blanc
RED:
•Mourvèdre
•Grenache
•Syrah
•Cinsault
•Cabernet Sauvignon
•Carignan
•Tibouren
•Braquet
How many AOPs are there in Provence? And what are them?
9 AOPs, north-south:
(all can do BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ)
- Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence AOP
- Coteaux Varois en Provence AOP
- Côtes de Provence AOP
- Bandol AOP
- Cassis AOP
- Les Baux-de-Provence AOP
- Fréjus AOP
- Bellet AOP
- Palette AOP
What is Cotes de Provence AOP?
BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ
varieties of grape are permitted, but principal varieties min 50% and at least blend of two grapes (Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Tibouren)
5 subzones:
1. Sainte-Victoire
2. Fréjus
3. La Londe
4. Pierrefeu
5. Notre-Dame des Anges
What is Saignée Method?
it means bleeding off from a vat of red wine grapes during early fermentation:
- Red wine grapes are harvested and crushed
- The crushed grapes are allowed to macerate (few hours - 2 days)
- A portion (5-15%) of pink-hued juice is then “bled-off” from the vat
- The “bled-off” juice is fermented separately to create rosé wine
- The remaining must continues to ferment into red wine which resulting deeper colour and flavour intensity (higher skin-to-juice ratio)
This method serves dual-purposes, produce rosé wine and concentrates the red wine by reducing the juice volume relative to the skins
How does the saignée method rosé taste like?
•colour is deeper and more vibrant pink hues compared direct pressing
•richer and more robust flavours, offering red berries, cherries and some hint of spice
•higher tannin content, providing more body and potential for aging
What is Bandol AOP?
BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ
focusing on rouge
rouge: 50-95% Mourvèdre, plus Cinsault and Grenache
min aging 18 months
What is Cassis AOP?
BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ
focusing on blanc
made from min 60% combined Marsanne (30-80%) and Clairette
What is Bellet AOP?
BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ
blanc: min 60% Vermentino (Rolle)
rouge: min 60% combined Braquet and Fuella Nera
What is Palette AOP?
BLANC / ROUGE / ROSÉ
blanc: min 55% combined Picardin, Clairette, Bourboulenc, Clairette Rosé
rouge/rosé: min 50% combined Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault
Chateau Simone owns most of the vineyards in here
