AOC vin doux naturel Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is the only wine of its kind in the Rhône Valley – a fortified wine with a worldwide reputation, made exclusively from Muscat à Petits Grains. The vineyards grow on ancient terraces, once the home of olive groves.
There are still some olive trees around, carefully watching over the growth and development of the Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise vineyards.
Informations
Climate: Mediterranean influenced by Mistral wind
Soils: Blond lands
Website appellation : https://www.beaumesdevenise-aoc.fr/
Key figures
Production surface area in 2023: 282 HA
Total production in 2023: 5 335 HL
Average annual yeld: 16 HL/HA
Export: 3%
Recognition in AOC by the I.N.A.O.: 1945
Communes: Beaumes-de-Venise and Aubignan
Grape varieties
Muscat à petits grains blanc
This white grape variety, probably of Greek origin, is the exclusive grape variety for the fortified wines (Vins Doux Naturels) of Beaumes-de-Venise, but also the majority grape variety for Clairette de Die, using the Ancestral Method.
Muscat à petits grains rouge
Muscat à petits grains rouges (small red grains), petits grains noirs (small black grains), Muscat noir (black Muscat)... It is in the Greek vineyards that this grape variety probably draws its sources.
To know
History
Traces of human activity in Beaumes-de-Venise date back to the dawn of time. Vines were planted by the ancient Greeks, and flourished under the Romans. In his Natural History, written in the first century, Pliny the Elder describes Muscat as a lively, fruity wine, long grown in Balme. He called it the “vine of the bees.”
In the 14th century, wine enthusiast Pope Clement V planted a Muscat vineyard across 70 hectares of Beaumes-de-Venise hillside. During the French Wars of Religion, at the time of the Renaissance, the vineyards all but disappeared. It was not until the 18th century that they returned to their former glory, championed by Joseph Roumanille and Frédéric Mistral.
In the late 19th century, the Vaucluse vineyards were almost eradicated yet again, this time by phylloxera. After nearly being forgotten, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise was revived at the beginning of the 20th century, and Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise Vin Doux Naturel was awarded AOC status in 1945, applied retroactively to start from the 1943 vintage.
Climate
The climate has a Mediterranean influence – hot and dry, the Mistral wind being tempered by the Dentelles de Montmirail.
Soils
Soils are made up of the sandy clay “Terres Blondes” created by the erosion of zaffre, a tender Miocene rock dating back fifteen million years or more.
Geography
The vineyards are located on the southern slopes of the Dentelles de Montmirail, in the communes of Beaumes-de-Venise and Aubignan in the Vaucluse.
Cépages et Saveurs
Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise wines are made entirely from Muscat à Petits Grains. Whole bunches are picked by hand in several passes, depending on ripeness; grapes need to have a sugar content of over 252g/l. Mutage – the process of adding alcohol to the musts – must use alcohol at least 96% pure, added when the musts show 5-10% alcohol content. The finished wines must contain 100g/l of sugar and show an acquired alcohol content of at least 15%.
White Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise display colours ranging from pale yellow to gold colour, aromas of flowers and tropical fruit and excellent length of flavour. Hues can vary from amber to rose gold, and almost purple for wines based on Muscat à petits grains rouges.
Associated appellations
