Pécharmant () is a

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 ...

appellation (

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) for certain wines produced in the hills to the North-East of the market town of Bergerac, France. With a surface area of 400 hectares, the communes of Bergerac, Creysse, and Lembras produce nearly 15 000 hectolitres of red wine. Pécharmant is the best known of the

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; ) is a large rural departments of France, department in south west France, with its Prefectures in France, prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and ...

region wines and has been classified AOC since 1936. The identification "Pécharmant" dates from 1946 and the new AOC on 13 March 1992.

History

First produced in the eleventh century, Pécharmant is the oldest collective of vineyards in the region of Bergerac. "Pécharmant" comes from the words "Pech" ( "Hill") and "Charmant" (Charming), thus meaning "the charming hill." Pécharmant vineyards are well exposed to the sun and the soil consists of sand and gravel from the Périgord, and contains a deep layer of ferruginous clay called "Tran."

Grapes and wine style

Pécharmant is a blend of four grape varieties,

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

and

Malbec Malbec () is a purple grape variety used in making red wine. The grapes tend to have an inky dark color and robust tannins, and are known as one of the six grapes allowed in the blend of red Bordeaux wine. In France, plantations of Malbec are ...

. These varieties produce a wine suitable for holding from four to ten years, typically tannic and full-bodied, ruby colored with fruity aromas, that can be served with game, Périgord charcuterie, confits, duck, red meats and strong cheeses. The land used for growing Pécharmant was previously used to grow grapes for producing

Rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

, a delicate white wine produced in the Bergerac region.

References

External links

Page d'accueil

List of Wineries in Pécharmant Region

Chateau Beauportail

Chateau de Tiregand

Château Pécharmant Corbiac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pecharmant South West France AOCs