Muscat de Mireval

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Terroir

• Rendzina soils over a Jurassic substratum, dry and stony, with colluvial gravels washed down from the Gardiole massif
• Skeletal soils over Jurassic limestone enriched with Miocene limestone and friable sandstone in the southern portion
• The Gardiole massif (234 m) shields the vines from northerly winds, limiting cane breakage; the Tramontane nonetheless persists through winter
• Mediterranean climate, ~14 °C mean annual temperature, sunshine exceeding 2,500 hours per year, rainfall ≤ 500 mm per year (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
• The appellation covers 2 communes (Mireval and Vic-La-Gardiole), between Montpellier and Sète, oriented toward the sea and bordering coastal lagoons

• Mutage — halting fermentation by the addition of grape spirit — was pioneered as early as the 14th century by Arnau de Vilanova, a physician in Montpellier
• By 1520, muscat had replaced cereal crops in Mireval; the AOC was officially recognised by decree on 28 December 1959

• Sweet, heady, and long on the palate as an apéritif; also produced in a spiced style evoking Xérès, pairing well with fish dishes (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The proximity of the sea, the Tramontane, and the free-draining soils together drive ripening to completion before the autumn rains while preserving acidity, yielding wines that are at once fresh and rich in terpenic alcohols

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF)
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry