Lirac AOC

Infobox
name=Infobox Wine Region
labelstyle= background:#FBECCD; color:#104000;
abovestyle= background:#673A37; color:#F2AFB8;
above=Rhône (wine region)

#if:{image|}|
caption={caption|}
label1=Official name
data1={official name|Lirac AOC}
label2=Other names
data2={other names|}
label3=Appellation type
data3={type|AOC}
label4=Year established
data4={year|1945}
label5=Years of wine industry
data5={wine years|2,000}
label6=Country
data6={country|France}
label7=Part of
data7={part of|Rhône Valley}
label8=Other regions in #if:{part of|}|{part of}|vicinity
data8={similar|Laudun AOC}
label9=Sub-regions
data9={sub regions|}
label10=Location
data10={location|}
label12=Climate region
data12={climate region|mediterranean}
label13=Soil conditions
data13={soil|sandy, loess, quartzite pebblesM}
label14=Total area (ha)
data14={total size|}
label15=Planted area (ha)
data15={planted|619}
label16=Yield (hl/ha)
data16={hl per ha|42}
label17=Yield (hl)
data17={hl|19,500}
label18=No. of vineyards
data18={vineyards|100}
label19=Grapes produced
data19={grapes|Grenache blanc, grenache noir, syrah, morvèdre, cinsault, carignan, bourboulenc}
label20=Varietals produced
data20={varietals|}
label21=No. of wineries
data21={wineries|53}
label22=Wine produced
data22={wine produced|red, white, rosé}
label23=Official designation(s)
data23={designation|}
label24=Data
data24={Data|2005}
label25=Key
data25={comments|ha: hectares, hl: hectolitres, hl/ha: hectolitres per hectare}|

Lirac is a wine-growing "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" (AOC) in the department of Gard situated in the low hills along the right bank of the Rhône river in the southern Rhône wine region of France. It is named after the town of Lirac. Bordering on the neighbouring cru of Tavel AOC, a rosé-only cru in the next village, Lirac is one of the 13 crus of the Rhône valley family. On the opposite river bank is the famous Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyard.

History

Lirac wines have been produced in the region since pre Roman times and were the favourite wines of kings and the papal community in Avignon at the time of the schism.In the mid 17th century the right-bank district of Côte du Rhône had issued regulations to govern the quality of its wine and in 1737 the king ordered that casks of Lirac wine shipped from the nearby river port of Roquemaure should be branded with the letters CDR to introduce a system of protecting its origin. The rules for its "Côte du Rhône" thus formed the very early basis of today's nationwide AOC system governed by the INAO. [Institut National des Appellations d'Origine Contrôlée et de la Qualité] The name was changed to Côtes du Rhône when the left-bank wines were included in the appellation some hundred years later. The appellation received full recognition by a High Court decision in 1937. [Maison de Vins, Avignon] In the 1930s, Count Henri de Régis, the owner of the Château de Ségriès in the heart of the village of Lirac improved the quality of his wines until in 1945 he obtained the highest distinction, a cru, of the Côtes du Rhône. Two years later in 1947 the appellation was confirmed by government decree. Lirac is the oldest wine in the Côtes du Rhône region and was the first to be produced in all three colours: red, rosé, and white.

In recent years, the planted vineyard area of Lirac has been increasing, and more high-quality wines are being produced.cite encyclopedia |editor=Jancis Robinson | encyclopedia=Oxford Companion to Wine |edition= Third Edition |title=Lirac |year=2006 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-860990-6 |pages=403 ]

Wines

Red wines are made from Grenache Noir (minimum 40%), Syrah and Mourvèdre (minimum of 25% together), Cinsault, and Carignan (maximum 10%). Rosé: The same varieties are used as for the red, and up to 20% of the allowed varieties for white wine may be used.

White wines are produced from Clairette, Grenache Blanc and Bourboulenc. No variety may be used in a proportion greater than 60%.

The minimum alcohol for all three colours is decreed at 11.5%.

The style of red Lirac often resembles a soft Côtes du Rhône-Villages, but the more ambitious wines are often similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Rosé Lirac is usually similar to Tavel.

Economy

The Lirac wines are produced by a total of 100 concerns which include 93 growers, 43 private wineries, 6 cooperative wineries, and one producer/merchant. [INAO, April 2007] Many producers in Châteauneuf-du-Pape also produces Lirac wine.

The vineyards are located in the four communes of Lirac, Saint-Laurent-des-Arbres, Saint-Geniès-de-Comolas, and Roquemaure.

References

ee also

*Rhône (wine region)
*Côtes du Rhône AOC