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Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois
- appellation for muscat based vin doux naturel from the languedoc in Southern France
- named after a village at the southern end of the Massif Central (the range of low mountains in south central France)
- Muscat d'Alexander not allowed
- part of AC Minervois
- a separate AC for vin doux in 1950
location
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climate
- altitude makes the climate cooler than other growing regions in the languedoc
- allows for Muscat de Petits Grains to have a longer hang time
soils & vineyard
- excellent drainage and poor soils in the area allows for Muscat de Saint-Jean-de-Minervois to be more complex and delicate than other Languedoc Muscats
- they are closer to the style of Muscat de Beaume De Venise
- very stony limestone across the commune
- muscat vineyards south facing at a 300 meteres
- huge blocks of limestone forming bed of pebbles some 15-20cm deep
- they absorb heat, reflecting it back to the grapes and they retain moisture underneath, protecting the vines from the drought in the arrid terrain
terroir of area
- marginal mediterranean climate and garrique landscape (meaning dry, limestone-based scrubland, populated by hardy herbs like rosemary and lavendar
style of wine
- produced using a traditional sweet wine making process called mutage
- generally have RS levels around 125g/l and alc. around 15%
- some of the most expressive Languedoc muscats, with sweet honeyed aromas of citrus and orange blossom
mutage
- winemaking process to artificially stop or "mute" the alc. fermentation of grape juice, resulting in a wine with high levels of RS.
- involves the creation of an environment inhospitable to yeast, either by the addition of grape spirit or sulfur dioxide
- mutage is standard procedure for making vin doux naturel and fortified wines
Top producers
- Domain Barroubio
- Cave St Jean-De-Menrvois
- Domain Sige
Domain Barroubio
- only part of commune is classified for Muscat de St Jean-De-Minervois and that there is a distinct difference between the soil for that and for Minervois itself
- muscat vines pruned in gobelet (vertical bush vine with vegetation kept upright
- picking all done by hand
- grapes are ripe when the bees and wasps swarm to the vineyard
Vinification methods
- temp controls necessary
- juice chilled after pressing for debourbage (settling) and the fermentation starts at a cool 14-16C
- regulations dictate a density of between 1058 and 1062, which should give you 15% and 125gms/L of RS in the final wine, with added alc representing between 6 and 10% of the volume
- they prefer riper grapes, which require less grape spirit, thereby obtaining what they consider to be a better balanced with with more finesse
- longer fermentation of riper grapes gives the same alc. and sugar balance but requires less grape spirit
- that way you avoid an alc. finish to the palate / there are risks though
- slower fermentation is better / if muscat is fermenting too quickly with very ripe grapes, it is much more difficult to stop / once wine is finished, it should remain in vat for as short a time as possible, in order to retain all it's natural freshness and aroma.
- 1998 Domain Barroubio when tasted was grapey, redolent of the richness of Muscat, ripe and rounded, but not cloying or heavy
- The alc. was well integrated and it left a long lingering finish int he mouth
- Muscat de St-Jean-De-Minervois used to be heavier and when they worked on a lighter, younger fresher style of wine, everyone in village said they were mad
- have developed a vendage tardive (grapes are picked a month later in mid-october once they've been dried on the vine by the wind and quite dehydrated
Cave de st-jean-de-minervois
- village co-op that is the largest producer of Muscat de st-jean-de-minervois
- founded in 1955, five years after the creation of the appellation
- accounts for 80% of the appellation
- asorbic acid helps in prevention of oxidation and enzymes are added to help with the settling process so that they are fermenting clear juice with cultured yeasts
- keep the fine lees apart, filtering them and fermenting them separately, to blend back into the wine / they add an extra aroma
- experimented with mutage at different sugar levels to also produce a late harvest wine
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