Clairette de Bellegarde is a tiny appellation in the far south of the Rhone valley in France, covering the dry white wines produced from only 100 acres (40ha) of vineyard. The wines are made only in the parish of Bellegarde, halfway between the towns of Arles and Nimes and just 20 miles (32km) from the Mediterranean coast. Bellegarde also produces wines sold under the Costieres de Nimes appellation. Created in June 1949, the Clairette de Bellegarde appellation was intended to provide distinction between the more usual style of southern French wines and the unique style of Bellegarde's Clairette-based output.
Clairette de Bellegarde wines are for early consumption (despite the French name Bellegarde suggesting "beautiful keeping") and are not considered to be particularly fine examples of southern French whites. They are made exclusively from the Clairette grape variety, and might be compared to the similar wines of the Coteaux de Die appellation of the eastern Rhone. Equally, they might be contrasted with the vastly different wines of the Clairette du Languedoc and Cremant de Die appellations, which are also made from 100% Clairette.
The climate of the area is Mediterranean, with long, hot summers and mild winters. It is, however, strongly influenced by both the mistral and the tramontane – two dry, cold and violent winds which are generated by the mountainous topography to the south (the Pyrenees) and the east (the Alps) respectively.
While the terroirs of most Rhone wine appellations are characterized by outcrops of granite (Hermitage) or limestone (Beaumes-de-Venise) and variations in altitude, the landscapes around Bellegarde are relatively flat and low-lying. As a result, the soils on which Clairette de Bellegarde wines are grown vary very little, and are characterized by large pebbles on shallow south- and south-east facing slopes. The vineyards are planted in areas of garrigue (the quintessential Provencal landscape of dry, low-lying scrubland on limestone soils) which are very well suited to viticulture. Garrigue landscapes are characterized by the presence of rosemary, lavender and thyme, and their relatively loose, free-draining soils are poor in nutriment. These conditions were the definition of perfect grape-growing land given in the 1920s by Baron Pierre Le Roy de Boiseaumarie of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, whose viticultural and oenological rules were the precursor to the modern appellation system. Free-draining soils of low fertility force vines grown in them to dig deep, strong root systems in search of water and nutriment and are widely considered to produce more complex wines.
