Gres de Montpellier is a regional sub-appellation of the Languedoc appellation, in southern France. It is one of several such sub-appellations, all of which are located on the coastal plains between Narbonne in the west, Montpellier in the center and Nimes in the east.
Situated no more than eight miles (20km) from the southern French coast, the climate enjoyed by all Gres de Montpellier vineyards is definitively Mediterranean, meaning long, hot summers and relatively mild winters. The soils here are largely free-draining and combine sand types with sandstone, elements of limestone and mineral-rich clay.
The Gres de Montpellier title is reserved exclusively for red wines. These are produced from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with occasional recourse to the traditional southern French varieties Carignan and Cinsaut. The latter two varieties are being gradually phased out of Languedoc-Roussillon's vineyards, for the simple reason that they make wines of relatively low quality. To incentivize this, the appellation laws strictly limit the percentage of Carignan and Cinsaut allowed into Languedoc Gres de Montpellier wines. Individually or together, they must not account for more than 30% of the blend. As if this were not sufficient, an even stronger disincentive lies within the appellation's entrée en production des jeunes vignes clause, which states the minimum age at which vines become eligible to claim the appellation. The bar is already set high for this appellation, at 5 years (compared to 3 years even for a respected appellation such as Chateauneuf-du-Pape). For Carignan vines, however, it is raised to a daunting 8 years.
