La Clape

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The La Clape massif is a karstic, tabular limestone massif with no permanent watercourse, reaching a peak elevation of 214 metres.
• This tightly circumscribed territory formed an island until the thirteenth century, before the Narbonne plain gradually silted up.
• The climate, situated at the heart of the Gulf of Lion, is typically Mediterranean and almost semi-arid, with fewer than 500 millimetres of rainfall per year.
• The area is swept by winds, mainly the north-westerly known as the 'cers', which promotes more than 3,000 hours of sunshine per year.
• The vineyard unfolds across a mosaic of different situations: piedmont zones, small valleys, marly combes, and small plains occupying former poljes.
• Water availability varies considerably from one plot to another depending on the depth of the parent rock and the aspect of the slopes.

• Viticulture has been maintained in this area close to the Via Domitia since the sixth century BC, and the role of the zone in wine production and trade was further reinforced in the seventeenth century by the construction of the Canal du Midi.
• The wines of La Clape were granted VDQS recognition in 1951, following the establishment of a grape selection suited to the environment and the adoption of limited yields, before being incorporated in 1960 into the Coteaux-du-Languedoc VDQS.

• The white wines display a balance between roundness and acidity, with an aromatic profile most often combining white flowers, fruit, balsamic notes, and a certain minerality.
• The red wines have a bright, deep-coloured robe, concentrated balsamic notes such as pine resin and eucalyptus, a garrigue-scented bouquet, and firm tannins requiring a minimum of one year's ageing.

• Bourboulenc, the compulsory variety at a minimum of 30% in white blends, expresses its full potential through its late ripening, its excellent adaptation to water stress, and its ability to make the most of sea spray and September rains, contributing to wines that are round and refined.
• For the red wines, Mourvèdre and Grenache, both well adapted to the hot, dry conditions of the area, yield berries harvested at full maturity that produce tannic wines requiring ageing.

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)
• Official trade body site — CIVL