Côtes du Roussillon () is an

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

for

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

s made in the

Roussillon Roussillon ( , , ; , ; ) was a historical province of France that largely corresponded to the County of Roussillon and French Cerdagne, part of the County of Cerdagne of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is part of the region of ' ...

wine region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the least selective AOC in the Roussillon region. In 2002, 21,048,500 litres of Côtes du Roussillon were produced, 68% red, 28%

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the wine color, color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the Macerati ...

and 4% white. Vins du Roussillo
Official French Site
Grenache is the dominant variety in Red and Rosé. According to the AOC rules, however, red wines must be made with at least three varieties of grapes. The total of the two main variety grapes should not make more than 90% of the blend, and there must not be more than 60% of

Carignan Carignan (; also known as Mazuelo, Bovale Grande, Cariñena, Carinyena, Samsó, Carignane, and Carignano) is a red grape variety of Spanish origin that is more commonly found in French wine but is widely planted throughout the western Medite ...

in it.

Grape varieties

Côtes du Roussillon are made with the traditional variety grapes of the Roussillon, that is Grenache noir,

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (; also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

, Lladoner Pelut,

Cinsault Cinsaut or Cinsault ( , ) is a red wine grape whose heat tolerance and productivity make it important in Languedoc-Roussillon and the former French colonies of Algeria, Lebanon, and Morocco. It is often blended with grapes such as Grenache and ...

, Macabeu and Malvoisie and with some new to the region variety grapes:

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

Mourvèdre Mourvèdre (; also known as Mataro or Monastrell) is a red wine grape variety grown in many regions around the world. It is found in the Rhône and Provence regions of France, the Valencia and Jumilla, Bullas and Yecla '' denominaciones de or ...

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

Marsanne Marsanne () is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known a ...

(all from Côte du Rhone) and Vermentino (from Italy).

Côtes du Roussillon Villages AOC

Côtes du Roussillon-Villages is a sub-appellation in the northern half of the appellation in the valley of the river Agly, from the best slopes around the valley. The appellation is in the foothills of the Pyrenees and the better wines are normally produced from vines on the slopes, not in the valley floors. It is purely for red wines, with stricter appellation regulations than regular Côtes du Roussillon. The blend allowed is:

(maximum 60%),

(minimum 30% combined), Grenache noir, Lladoner. Note that a minimum of three varieties are allowed in the blend.

References

Languedoc-Roussillon wine AOCs Roussillon wine AOCs {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotes Du Roussillon Aoc

Grape varieties

Côtes du Roussillon Villages AOC

See also

References