Len De L'El
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Len de l'El (various spellings have been reported:Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin Sud-Oues
Len de l'El B ou Loin de l'Oeil
" (French). Accessed: 23 October 2011
Oxford Companion to Wine'
Gaillac entry
"'' Accessed: 6 February 2011
Ampélographie - Description des cépages et variétés de raisins de cuve ou raisins de tabl

(French). Accessed: 23 October 2011
Len de l'Elh, Len del El, Lendelel, Loin-de-l'oeil ; also known as cavalié or cavalier) is a white
French wine French wine is produced throughout all of France in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. French wine traces its history to th ...
grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...
native to South West France. ''
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 ...
'' (AOC) regulation dictate that the white wines from
Gaillac Gaillac (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. It had in 2013 a population of 14,334 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are called Gaillacois. Geography Gaillac is a town situated between Toulouse, Albi and Montauban. It has ...
must include at least 15% Len de l'El blended with Mauzac, though there has been movements to allow substitution of
Sauvignon blanc Sauvignon blanc () is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the city of Bordeaux in France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an ind ...
(and since 2007 growers have been officially permitted to do so).Oz Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 116 Harcourt Books 2001 Prior to the
phylloxera epidemic The Great French Wine Blight was a severe blight of the mid-19th century that destroyed many of the vineyards in France and laid waste to the wine industry. It was caused by an insect that originated in North America and was carried across the At ...
, Len de l'El constituted more than 30% of all plantings in the Gaillac region.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pg 237 Mitchell Beazley 1986 But the grapes are prone to rot and have been declining in plantings in recent times. The wines made from the grape are typically full bodied with low
acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...
but powerful fruit notes.


History and name origins

Ampelographers Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of th ...
believe that Len de l'El is native to
Gaillac Gaillac (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. It had in 2013 a population of 14,334 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are called Gaillacois. Geography Gaillac is a town situated between Toulouse, Albi and Montauban. It has ...
region of Southwest France where it has had a long history of wine production. Even as the 20th century saw the introduction of new grape varieties and a push towards more
international International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
and marketable varieties, strong regional attachment to the variety has kept the grape from falling into obscurity. Like the Manseng family of grapes in the
Jurançon Jurançon (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. It is part of the traditional province of Béarn. Population See also *Jurançon AOC, a wine from this commune *Communes of the Pyrénées-A ...
, growers in the Gaillac region used the codification of
wine laws Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine, as ...
for the ''Appellation d'origine contrôlée'' in 1938 to dictate a minimum usage of Len de l'El for all white blends produced in the area—thus sustaining its presence.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes'' pg 96 Oxford University Press 1996 While the laws were later amended in the 21st century to allow the substitution of Sauvignon blanc, the effects of the initial mandate for Len de l'El's use helped maintain the variety's presence in the region. It is widely accepted that the name Len de l'El comes from the Toulouse Occitan
dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
. Incidentally, it is phonetically similar to the French translation ''loin de l'œil'' meaning "far from the eye" with the
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
sometimes still seen on
wine label Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it. Certain information is ordinarily inclu ...
s along with other alternative spellings. Wine expert
Oz Clarke Robert Owen Clarke (born 1949), known as Oz Clarke, is a British wine writer, actor, television presenter and broadcaster. Early life Clarke's parents were a chest physician and a nursing sister. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Roma ...
explains that the name refers to the position of the fruit in respect to the
bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or Plant embryogenesis, embryonic Shoot (botany), shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a Plant stem, stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormancy, dormant conditi ...
: the clustered grapes have long stalks that attach to the fruiting cane at a distance that is farther from the bud (or "eye", ''oeil'' in French) than most grape varieties. This explanation is supported by Gaillac wine growersGaillac Wines '
A specific collection of grape varieties
"'' ''Grand Vin du Sud-Ouest'' (English). Accessed: 23 October 2011
and at least one French
ampelography Ampelography ( ἄμπελος, "vine" + γράφος, "writing") is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, ''Vitis'' spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and colour of th ...
authority as well.


Wine regions

Len de l'El is found virtually exclusively in the Gaillac AOC where it is a minor blending grape in the white and
sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne ( ...
blends based primarily on the Mauzac grape. According to AOC regulations, at least 15% of the white blends must include either Len de l'El or Sauvignon blanc. Other grapes that may be blended with Len de l'El include
Sémillon Sémillon () is a golden-skinned grape used to make dry and sweet white wines, mostly in French wine, France and Australian wine, Australia. Its thin skin and susceptibility to Botrytis cinerea, botrytis make it dominate the sweet wine region S ...
,
Muscadelle Muscadelle () is a white wine grape variety. It has a simple aroma of grape juice and raisins like grapes of the Muscat family of grapes, but it is unrelated. DNA analysis has indicated that Muscadelle is a cross between Gouais blanc and an un ...
and
Ondenc Ondenc is a white French wine grape found predominantly in the Gaillac region of southwest France. In the 19th century, it was a popular planting in Bordeaux but fell out of favor following the phylloxera epidemic due to poor yields and sensit ...
.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 73 Firefly Books 2004 The grape can also be found in the experimental wines of several ''
vin de pays ''Vin de pays'' (; 'country wine') was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former '' vin délimité de qualité ...
'', most notably the major VDP of Southwest France Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan where it is often blended with Muscadelle,
Petit Manseng Petit Manseng (sometimes translated: Small Manseng, rarely "Little Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France. It produces the highest quality wine of any grape in the Manseng family. The name is deriv ...
, Muscat blanc, Mauzac and Sauvignon blanc.Wines of France
Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan
"'' Accessed: 6 February 2011


Viticulture

Len de l'El is highly prone to various
grape diseases This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' Am ...
, particularly the
grape rot This is a list of diseases of grapes (''Vitis'' spp.). Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Miscellaneous diseases and disorders Nematodes, parasitic Phytoplasma, virus and viruslike diseases See also *'' Ampeloglypter ater'' *'' Am ...
s that can afflict vineyards in the moist
maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...
of Southwest France. Therefore, growers tend to limit plantings of the grapes to hillside locations with well draining
vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticulture, viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrie ...
and ventilation of air currents to keep the vines dry. The vine can be quite vigorous and produce larger yields that can further dilute the character of the grape if not kept in check. While it is often blended with Mauzac, Len de l'El's tendency to ripen up to two weeks earlier than Mauzac can create some complications for growers which often requires Mauzauc to be harvested a little bit earlier so its acidity can balance the alcohol of Len de l'El.


Wine styles

Len de l'El can ripen to high sugar levels but usually fails to retain the acidity needed to balance the wine and keep it from coming across as
flabby Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...
. Still, it is a flexible grape that can be used in blends as well as sparkling and sweet dessert style wines. According to wine expert
Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...
, the grape can produce "powerful and characterful" full bodied wines.


Synonyms

Len de l'El and its wines are known under a variety of synonyms including Cavaille, Cavailles, Cavalie, Cavalier, Endelel, Kavale, Kavaler, L'Endelel, Len de l'Elh, Len del El, Lenc de l'El, Lendellet, Loin de l'oeil.Len de l'El
,
Vitis International Variety Catalogue The Vitis International Variety Catalogue (VIVC) is a database of various species and varieties/cultivars of grapevine, the genus ''Vitis''. VIVC is administered by the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding (''Institut für Rebenzüchtung G ...
, retrieved 2010-12-03


References

{{reflist White wine grape varieties