Southwestern France and Dordogne Flashcards
Bergerac AOP
Department: Dordogne
Produces Reds, Whites, and Rose’s from Bordeaux varietals.
Sec denotes dry whites from the region
Côtes de Bergerac AOP
Requires a higher amount of minimum alcohol (11.5%) (11% for blanc wines)
Percharmant AOP
Longest lived wines of Bergerac
Rouge: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cot. No grape may exceed 65% of the blend.
What are the five sweet wine appellations within Bergerac?
Monzbazillac AOP
Saussignac AOP
Rosette AOP
Haut-Montravel AOP
Cotes de Montravel AOP
Monbazillac AOP
Most notable sweet wine appellation
Botrytised wines from Bordeaux varietals
Muscadelle excels in the sandy soils
Multiple tries and a ban on mechanical harvesting are testament to the appellations commitment to quality.
Montravel AOP
Unlike Côtes de Montravel and Haut-Montravel, May be red or white and must be dry.
Cahors AOP
On the Lot River
Offers robust, sometimes rustic red wines produced from a minimum 70% Malbec, with Tannat and Merlot.
Madiran AOP
Wines are tannic
Winemaker Patrick Ducournau developed the technique of micro-oxygenation in the early 1990’s to soften the blow of Tannat.
Secondary grapes include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the local Fer.
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh AOP
Semi-sweet and sweet white wines in Madiran.
Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu, and Arrufiac.
Dry Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh is labeled sec.
Jurançon AOP
Department: Pyrenees-Atlantiques
White wines principally from Gros and Petit Manseng
Petit Manseng is better suited to sweet passerillage wines.
Gros Manseng provides the tangy dry whites of Jurançon Sec AOP.
Petit Courbu, Camaralet, and Lauzet are secondary grapes for both dry styles.
Irouleguy and Béarn
Department: Pyrenees-Atlantiques
Produces Reds, Whites, and Rosés
Gaillac AOP
Among France’s oldest vineyards
Wines may be Reds, Whites, and Rosés
Red Varietals: Duras, Fer, Syrah, and Gamay
White Varietals: Mauzac, Muscadelle, and Len de l’El.
Len de l’El grape varietal
Len de l’El means “far from sight” in the old d’Oc language.
Conveying the clusters long stalks and the distance to the “eye” or bud from which they are sprouted.
The grape produces wine with a natural fleshy, soft character that complements the tarter acidity of Mauzac.
Premiers Côtes
Dry whites of 11 delimited communes
Sweet Whites: Labeled Gaillac Doux
Sparkling Whites: Labeled Gaillac Mousseux
Sparkling wines may be made by the traditional method or by methode Gaillacoise, a variant of the methode ancestrale.
Marcillac AOP
A unique appellation in France
Department: Aveyron
Producing the varietal Fer reds. A minimum 90% is required in AOP vineyards.
