Minervois La Liviniere

Minervois La Liviniere is a red wine appellation of the Languedoc region in southern France.

After their wines were classified as AOC Minervois in 1985, the producers of La Liviniere spent 10 years lobbying the INAO (the government body in charge of France's appellation system) for their own, more-specific appellation; eventually they were successful.

The Minervois La Liviniere title is uniquely for the local dry red wines produced from traditional Carignan and Cinsaut grapes, assisted by the classic Rhone varieties Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. The latter three are cepages ameliorateurs ('improver varieties') and are being widely used across the region to make the traditional Carignan-based wines more complex and approachable. Syrah and Mourvedre must form a minimum of 40% of any wine made under the La Liviniere name, while Carignan and Cinsaut are limited to a maximum of 40%.

The area's terroir is characterized by a Mediterranean climate and classic southern-French garrigue landscape. Garrigue is the quintessential Provencal landscape of dry, limestone-based scrubland, populated by hardy herbs such as rosemary and lavender. It is this soil make-up which sets La Liviniere apart from the rest of Minervois.

Last updated 25-Jul-2014din tekst her...