Haute-Marne

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• The oldest terroirs, in the south-east near the Vosges massif, consist of argillaceous-sandstone and dolomitic formations from the Triassic period, bordered to the north-west by Liassic clays in the Bassigny.
• The Langres plateau, a limestone massif rising above 500 metres in elevation, forms the watershed between the English Channel and the Mediterranean and dominates the older formations of the south-eastern part of the zone.
• The region is crossed by the concentric ridges typical of the Paris Basin known as cuestas, formed by the alternation of hard Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous limestone strata with softer clayey, marly, or sandy layers.
• The cool oceanic climate with continental overtones has a mean annual temperature of 10.5 °C, with warm, humid, and often stormy summers; the most reputed vineyards receive annual rainfall not exceeding 800 millimetres.
• The vines are situated on calcareous, marly, or occasionally clayey slopes, generally south-facing, at elevations of between 250 and 350 metres.

• A sparkling wine from Soyers, near Amance, was particularly renowned as early as the nineteenth century, a period during which the production of sparkling wines in Haute-Marne is documented.
• In 1386, winegrowers submitted a petition to the Bishop of Langres seeking confirmation of viticultural practices acquired since time immemorial, attesting to a dynamic viticulture in the area from that date.
• In 1816, Jullien noted in his Topographie de tous les vignobles connus that the canton of Prauthoy, south of Langres, produced in his view the finest wines of Haute-Marne.

• The early-ripening character of the Pinot family varieties makes it possible to achieve harvests of excellent maturity while preserving a level of acidity that is conducive to good freshness.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 14 novembre 2011, JORF 18 novembre 2011
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Confédération des Vins IGP de France