Tavel

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The vineyard is located in the Rhône corridor 15 kilometres northwest of Avignon, in the commune of Tavel and a small part of that of Roquemaure, in the Gard.
• The vineyard is periodically swept by the Mistral, a cold, dry north wind, sometimes very strong, against a backdrop of hot, dry summers with abundant sunshine.
• Average annual rainfall is 700 millimetres, with very low precipitation during the grape ripening period.
• The clay-limestone combe west of the village occupies the syncline of an Urgonian limestone massif from the Upper Barremian, filled in during the Pliocene with marls and clays forming layers of "terra rossa".
• The high pebble terrace of the Vallongue plateau, northeast of the village at around 120 metres of altitude, shows soil formation that began around one million years ago, producing a red fersialitic soil.
• The "terres blanches", derived from recent colluvium and located southeast of the village at altitudes declining from roughly 86 to 63 metres, are naturally well drained.
• The Mediterranean climate of the appellation area follows a four-phase rhythm with two dry seasons and two rainy seasons, including abundant and sudden autumn rains. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

• The oldest document mentioning the vines of Tavel dates from 897, on the occasion of an exchange of property between the bishop and the viscount of Béziers.
• The Syndicat des propriétaires-viticulteurs de Tavel, founded in 1902, ranks among the first French associations for the defence of wine, and Tavel was recognised by decree of 15 May 1936.

• The specification reserves the benefit of the appellation solely for still rosé wines, whose colour intensity is governed by the production rules.
• Young wines reveal primary amylic aromas and clean red-fruit notes, while over time notes of liquorice, aromatic herbs, gunflint and spice emerge.

• The water and heat stresses of the natural environment can cause the berries to wilt before sufficient phenolic ripeness is reached, which then requires vinification as rosé wine.

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), JORF 3 mai 2017
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — Inter Rhône