Cabardès wines

Vineyard and Wines of Cabardès
Cabardès vineyard
  • Wine Region : Languedoc wines.
  • AOP / AOC: Cabardes.
  • Vinifications: red wine | Rosé wine.
  • Main grape varieties: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Syrah.
  • Accessory grape varieties: Cinsault, Cot (or Malbec), Fer servadou.

Close neighbor of Malepere, le Cabardès vineyard rises on the foothills of the Montagne Noire, north-west of Carcassonne. Dominated by the Peak of Nore, the appellation area offers broad views to the south of the Pyrenees before its slopes gently slide towards the furrow of the Aude river. On these stony slopes where the geological layers vary according to the altitude, viticulture dates back to the first centuries of our era. As is often the case in Languedoc, the Greeks were the importers, the Romans the promoters, the monastic communities the continuators. In the XVIIe century, the development of the Canal du Midi facilitated the transport of Cabardès wines by river. In the XVIIIe the prosperity of the vineyard was well established and the quality of its wines brought back by M. de Pennautier, intendant of the French Armies in Spain. At the beginning of the XXe century, after the phylloxera crisis, cooperative solidarity associated with qualitative research has enabled Cabardès wines to conquer the status of PDO. At this junction point where Atlantic influences meet the shift towards a Mediterranean climate, grape varieties from the south-east and south-west coexist in the vineyard. Merlot and Cabernets combine there with Syrah and Grenache to form together the main grape varieties of the appellation. Malbec, Cinsault or Fer servadou rub shoulders with them incidentally. From this specificity of the terroir, Cabardès wines draw a conciliating and consistent character where the aromatic subtlety of the Atlantic grape varieties signs a pact of balance with the sunny structure of the Mediterranean strains. These qualities are equally evident in red wines, which are the majority on the terroir, as in rosé wines also present in the region. Cabardès.