Which grapes are used in the sparkling wine Blanquette de Limoux?
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Dear Dr. Vinny,
Which grapes are used in the sparkling wine Blanquette de Limoux?
—Laurie, Bremerton, Wash.
Dear Laurie,
Blanquette de Limoux is a sparkling wine from the Languedoc region in southern France.
For more info, I checked in with our Limoux expert, Wine Spectator associate editor Gillian Sciaretta. She explained that Blanquette de Limoux is one of four AOCs in the Limoux region. (The other three are Crémant de Limoux, Limoux and Blanquette de Limoux Méthode Ancestrale.)
“Blanquette de Limoux must be at least 90 percent Mauzac,” Sciaretta says, “with the rest being either Chenin Blanc and/or Chardonnay. The Crémants are blends of mostly Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, but some additional allowable grapes include Mauzac and Pinot Noir. Both Blanquette de Limoux and Crémant de Limoux are made using méthode traditionnelle.”
“Blanquette de Limoux Méthode Ancestrale wine must use 100 percent Mauzac, and is made by stopping primary fermentation before it is complete, with a secondary fermentation occurring in the bottle."
—Dr. Vinny
