Tavel AOC
Encyclopedia
Tavel is a wine
-growing Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
in the southern Rhône wine region
of France
, across the Rhône River
from Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
and just north of Avignon
. Tavel wines are all rosé
wines and must have a minimum alcohol content of 11%. The 933 hectares produce an average yield of 42 hectolitres per hectare The vineyards are located in the commune of Tavel
only.
Tavel is reputed to have been a favourite wine of kings Philippe le Bel and Louis XIV, the Popes of Avignon, and the 19th century novelist, Honoré de Balzac
, and is one of the few rosé wines that can benefit from aging
.
and Cinsault are the main grapes used in the appellation's wines, along with Syrah and Mourvedre
, although the latter two were not permitted until 1969. Tavel wines are dry and tend to have more body and structure than most rosés. They can be cellared, but are usually drunk young.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
-growing Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
in the southern Rhône wine region
Rhône (wine region)
The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône river valley and produces numerous wines under various Appellation d'origine contrôlée designations...
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, across the Rhône River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
from Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a French wine Appellation d'origine contrôlée located around the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhône wine region in southeastern France. It is the most renowned appellation of the southern part of the Rhône Valley...
and just north of Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
. Tavel wines are all rosé
Rosé
A rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
wines and must have a minimum alcohol content of 11%. The 933 hectares produce an average yield of 42 hectolitres per hectare The vineyards are located in the commune of Tavel
Tavel, Gard
Tavel is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.-Population:-References:*...
only.
Tavel is reputed to have been a favourite wine of kings Philippe le Bel and Louis XIV, the Popes of Avignon, and the 19th century novelist, Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
, and is one of the few rosé wines that can benefit from aging
Aging of wine
The aging of wine, and its ability to potentially improve wine quality, distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color,...
.
History
The wine of Tavel is historically famous. Philip IV is supposed to have travelled through Tavel on one of his tours of the kingdom. He was reportedly offered a glass, which he emptied without getting off his horse and afterwards proclaimed Tavel the only good wine in the world. The Sun King, Louis XIV is also supposed to have been fond of the wine, which helped maintain its reputation until the vineyards were affected by the phylloxera epidemic. Tavel achieved AOC status in 1936 when the system was introduced. At that point the grapes were mostly grown on the sandy flat lands closer to town, where vines were easier to cultivate but produced a lower quality of wine. In 1965 the hillsides were cleared of forest and prepared for growing vines.Climate and geography
In Tavel there are three types of soil, one west of town is dominated by limestone and slate. Here, low-yielding vines grow giving deep and aromatic wines. Another type is the flat sandy rocky fields, easy to cultivate and good for ripening. The third is dominated by galets roules, the smooth round stones also found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and is located east of the town in the direction of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.Grapes and wine
GrenacheGrenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...
and Cinsault are the main grapes used in the appellation's wines, along with Syrah and Mourvedre
Mourvèdre
Mourvèdre , Mataró or Monastrell is wine grape variety used to make both strong, dark red wines and rosés. It is an international variety grown in many regions around the world....
, although the latter two were not permitted until 1969. Tavel wines are dry and tend to have more body and structure than most rosés. They can be cellared, but are usually drunk young.
Winemaking
Rosé wine cannot legally be made in France by blending red and white wines together, with the sole exception of Champagne. Instead, rosé wine is made by the "saignée" method, which uses red grapes only, pressed to ferment with the skins for a short period (10-36 hours) in order to extract some colour. Then the must is "bled" - a process separating the skins from the must. In Tavel, some of the must is kept with the skins longer and then blended into the lighter must, which is what makes the wine more powerful, more tannic and darker than other rosés. The potential alcohol is high, with an upper limit of 13.5% for the appellation.See also
- French wineFrench wineFrench wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...