Aude is the IGP title for wines that are made in the administrative department of the same name on the Mediterranean coast of France. The landscape here is completely dominated by viticulture, making everything from IGP wines to AOC-level wines such as Corbieres, Minervois and Limoux. The Aude IGP is one of the most productive in the country, along with its neighboring denomination, Pays d'Herault.
The department is essentially a large valley, bordered to the north by the Montagne Noir of the southern Massif Central, and to the south by the foothills of the Pyrenees. Varied mesoclimates and topography have made for a diverse terroir, and a wide array of wine styles are made here as a result.
© Wikimedia/Benh Lieu Song
Broadly speaking, the climate here is classically Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and mild winters. Aude is one of the windiest departments in the south of France, buffeted by dry, cold winds from the northwest and moist, warm winds from the Mediterranean. These winds are important for several reasons: they help slow ripening by cooling the grapes during hot, sunny days; they reduce disease pressure by drying vineyards; and together, they can cause sudden heavy rainstorms in spring and autumn, hydrating the vines.
Aude also feels a climatic diversification from east to west – while the more easterly vineyards are dry and definitively Mediterranean, the more westerly edges of the department have more of a maritime influence from the Atlantic Ocean on the west coast of France, with higher rainfall and colder winters.
The soils here are fairly diverse, ranging from the sedimentary makeup of the Pyrenees to the more schist- and limestone-based soils of the Montagne Noir. Generally, vineyards can be found on limestone-based soils, which they share with the characteristic garrigue scrubland that is found throughout southern France.
Aude IGP wines are traditionally blends of Mediterranean grape varieties such as Grenache, Carignan and Cinsaut. Increasingly, these blends are ameliorated with grape varieties from other parts of France, particularly the Bordeaux stablemates of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Varietally labeled wines are also becoming an important part of production under the Aude IGP.
The departmental Aude IGP has a further nine regions that may be used as geographical indicators on labels: Hauterive, Cucugnan, Coteaux de Miramont, Coteaux de la Cabrerisse, Cotes de Lastours, Cotes de Prouilhe, Val de Cesse and Val de Dagne.
Aude IGP wines were previously categorized as Vin de Pays, but as this designation was struck from French wine law beginning in 2009, the wines now fall under the Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) designation.
