Tavel

France · AOC (PDO) · Rhône Valley

Styles

Natural factors

The appellation covers essentially the commune of Tavel and part of Roquemaure, both in the Gard département, 15 kilometres north-west of Avignon.
The vineyard is periodically swept by the Mistral, a cold, dry northerly wind, within a Mediterranean context of hot, dry summers and an annual rainfall of 700 millimetres.
The clay-limestone valley to the west of the village occupies the syncline of an Urgonian limestone massif filled during the Pliocene with marls and clays, with outcrops of terra rossa and light-reflecting white stone slabs at the surface. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)
The high Vallongue terrace, at approximately 120 metres of altitude, displays a red fersialitic soil with coarse gravel whose pedogenesis began around one million years ago, with conglomerates in the lower horizons.
The sandy slopes and hollows, covered with Pliocene sands and a sparse spread of pebbles, are probably the oldest cultivated soils in the appellation, reserved for viticulture well before the expansion of the eighteenth century.

Human factors

The oldest document mentioning the vines of Tavel dates from 897 and concerns an exchange of property between the bishop and the viscount of Béziers.
Tavel is one of the first appellations d'origine contrôlées to be recognised, by decree of 15 May 1936, following the establishment as early as 1902 of a syndicate of owner-growers. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

Product characteristics

Young wines show clean red-fruit aromas that evolve over time towards liquorice, spice, and flint, with a round palate and a long aromatic finish.
The colour, described as early as 1931 as 'haematic', ranges from salmon to the deep rose of rosehip achenes, with colour intensity governed by the specifications.

Terroir / wine link

Water and heat stress can cause berry shrivelling before full phenolic ripeness is reached, making a rosé vinification preferable to a red one.

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