葡萄详情

Mauzac (or Mauzac Blanc) is a traditional white grape variety found throughout South West France. While it has been largely supplanted by fashionable Chardonnay, it is used to make still and sparkling wines in the Limoux and Gaillac appellations. Wines made from Mauzac grapes tend to have honeyed, green apple characters, and the variety appears on its own or as part of a blend.

The grape variety has a tendency to ripen late in the season, and so requires a relatively warm climate to reach optimum maturity prior to harvest. Despite this, acidity levels remain high, and so wines made from the grape are perfectly suited to sparkling wine production. Mauzac's most famous application is in the methode traditionelle Blanquette de Limoux wines, where it is required to make up at least 90 percent of the blend (the remainder may be made up of Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc). 

Mauzac is the only permitted variety in Gaillac's Methode Ancestrale wines. These tend to be lighter and sweeter than Blanquette de Limoux, mostly due to the vinification process, where wine is bottled during fermentation rather than after. Mauzac is also one of the three key grapes used in Gaillac's still white wines, alongside Muscadelle and Len de l'El.

The variety has been grown in the area just north of the Pyrenees for hundreds of years and supposedly takes its name from a village near Toulouse. Despite the best efforts of local vignerons, Mauzac's hold on the local landscape has declined considerably since the 1950s.

Synonyms include: Mauzac Blanc, Blanquette

Food matches for Mauzac include:

• Sushi
• Fried chicken
• Sydney rock oysters