Coteaux de Peyriac is an IGP title for red, rosé and white wines produced from an area on the edges of the Montagne Noir in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France. The area, which falls roughly halfway between Carcassonne and Narbonne, covers a very similar area to the more-famous Minervois appellation. The IGP covers the wines that are not made to the stipulations set out in the Minervois AOC law.
The official vineyard area of Coteaux de Peyriac is typically Mediterranean – the dry, garrigue-covered hills of the southern Montagne Noir have high sunshine hours and low annual rainfall. The landscape that stretches along the bottom of the hills is a virtually uninterrupted carpet of vines, although most of what is grown here is made into Minervois wines.
© Wikimedia/Christian Ferrer
There is some variation of climate in the region but, roughly speaking, long, hot summers are followed by mild winters and cooling influences come in the form of dry winds from the northwest. The vineyards that are used to produce Coteaux de Peyriac wines tend to sit on clay limestone soils, with the lighter sandstone terraces more likely to provide grapes for Minervois wines.
Mediterranean varieties such as Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan do best in the terroir, although the Coteaux de Peyriac laws allow for more international grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir to be used in the wines. Generally, Coteaux de Peyriac IGP wines are blended, but a trend for single-varietal wines is emerging.
The Coteaux de Peyriac IGP has been recognized by the French wine authorities as an official winegrowing area since 1982, although prior to 2009, it was known as Vin de Pays des Coteaux de Peyriac. This category of French wine has since been renamed as Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP), renewing its image for consumers and bringing it in line with the labeling conventions of the European Union.
Coteaux de Peyriac IGP wines that are produced in the communes of Baden and Rustiques may also be labeled with the geographical indicator Hauts de Badens.
