La Clape

As the name implies, this designation is a specific cru of the Languedoc designation (La Clape). Its peculiar limestone elevation is located southeast of the city of Narbonne. In Roman times it was l'Insula Laci or Lykia; on an island drifting meters from the mainland. It boasts an incredible variety of producers with, almost without exception, wonderful wines.

The area's red wines tend to develop a distinctive mineral maritime character beneath their jammy fruit nose. Red wines also have an imposing tannin structure and full body thanks to the ubiquity of Grenache and Syrah, but the wine remains well balanced with a round freshness. It is one of the few areas where the crunchy aromatic ancestral variety Bourboulenc is still grown. The grape must make up at least 30% of all regional white wine, with other varieties such as Clairette, Grenache, Marsanne, and Vermentino making up the balance. The white wines here have a very distinctive iodine character that can be traced back to the ubiquity of the sea air.