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The wines of the IGP Côtes Catalanes grow in France's southernmost wine-growing region, Roussillon. IGP stands for "Indication Géographique Protégée", which literally means "Protected Geographical Indication" and has replaced the former category "Landwein" as a designation of origin since 2009. The name Côtes Catalanes refers to the fact that today's Roussillon region is the northern part of Catalonia, which belonged to Spain until the 17th century and became part of France in the course of the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 after the Franco-Spanish War.

The IGP Côtes Catalanes covers almost the entire French département of Pyrénées-Orientales and is framed to the north, west and south by the three mountain ranges of Corbières, Canigou and Albères. The eastern border is the Mediterranean coast from Port Barcarès to Argelès-sur-Mer; the southern coastal strip around the four municipalities of Collioure, Port-Vendres, Banyuls and Cerbère is the area of the IGP Côte Vermeille.

Wine landscape at the Serre de Vingrau (Photo: CIVR/Goheynex)

The climate is Mediterranean - hot, dry and windy with 2,500 to 3,000 hours of sunshine and 500 to 650 millimetres of precipitation per year. At higher altitudes it is somewhat cooler, which tends to make the wines from there finer and more balanced. Given the size of the area covered by the IGP Côtes Catalanes, the soils are very diverse: from alluvial terraces on the coast to limestone, marl, slate, sand and sedimentary rock to gneiss and granite.

The vineyard area covers a good 3,800 hectares spread over 118 communes. More than half of the grapes produced here (55 percent) are red wines, 30 percent rosé wines and 15 percent white wines. These are both single-varietal wines and cuvées. For red and rosé wines, the grape varieties Grenache Noir, Carignan Noir, Cinsaut, Lladoner Pelut, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chenanson and Marselan are permitted, for white wines Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Macabeu, Tourbat (Torbato, Malvoisie du Roussillon), Marsanne, Roussanne, Vermentino, Muscat d'Alexandrie, Muscat à petits grains (Muscat Blanc), Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.

The IGP Côtes Catalanes accounts for over 70 per cent of the total production of IGP wines in Roussillon; around 201,700 hectolitres were produced in 2013. Yields are limited to 90 hectolitres per hectare and averaged 53 hectolitres per hectare in 2013.

Vineyard near Baixas (Photo: CIVR/Goheynex)

The Roussillon Wine Association (CIVR) certifies that the IGP Côtes Catalanes has "an immense potential of white, rosé and red wines as well as dry rancios with many facets". Rancios are oxidatively vinified white, rosé and red wines from hot wine-growing regions such as Roussillon. The grape must have at least 238 grams of sugar per litre and the wines are matured for at least five years with oxygen contact, which gives them characteristic aromas of nuts, candied fruit and rancid butter.
A minimum alcohol content of 14 percent by volume and a maximum residual sugar content of twelve grams per litre are prescribed. Approved grape varieties for this speciality are Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Carignan Noir, Carignan Blanc, Cinsaut, Mourvèdre, Tourbat, Macabeu, Muscat à petits grains and Muscat d'Alexandrie.

Variety is what distinguishes the wines of the IGP Côtes Catalanes, and a great many independent growths can be found in this quality level. "Since time immemorial, the two IGPs have enabled Roussillon winemakers, on the one hand, to make wines from grape varieties that were not permitted for the appellations; on the other hand, they have been able to produce exceptional wines, sometimes of breathtaking quality. However, they have always taken into account the terroir, the yields and the savoir-faire of Roussillon," says the CIVR.

Old vines in the Maury area (Photo: CIVR)

All currently tasted wines of the IGP Côtes Catalanes

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