Welcome to Saint Chinian, on the wine-trail

In the palette of the great wines produced today in Languedoc-Roussillon, the wines of St Chinian hold a place apart. They belong to those famous crus which, over the decades, have confirmed their status as "vins de coteaux", its terraced hillside vineyards built up like the serried ranks of an amphitheatre facing towards the sea. In addition to this Mediterranean influence, the region is graced by the mountains of the Espinouse and the Caroux which surround it, reaching a height of more than 1000 metres. These topographical features combine to endow the region with a microclimate which is a key factor in the high quality of its wines.

The St Chiniannais is then a region of coteaux situated at an altitude of between 100 and 3OO metres, much of it south-facing. It covers a surface area of 6500 hectares, of which today about half is consecrated to the production of AOC (appellation contrôlée) Saint-Chinian.

The structure and aromatic complexity of the Saint-Chinian wines vary from vineyard to vineyard and from cépage to cépage, each mix providing a marriage of flavours The cépages Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre constitute the majority of grapes grown (60%), most often married with Carignan in the case of the red wines and with Cinsault in the case of the rosés.

Flavours and aromas of heathland, of pine, of broom and of laburnum. The young supple reds, tender and fruity, with sometimes a hint of violet, of laurel and of spices, go well with white meat, roasted poultry or grilled lamb and is best drunk two or three years after harvesting. As for the richer wines, full-bodied and spicy, served at the right temperature (16-18°), they are ideal with daubes of the region and above all with locally-caught game.

The rosé is preferably drunk young, in the year of the harvest. Aromatic and fruity, served at a temperature of 11-13°, it is the ideal accompaniment to good charcuterie or to grilled fish.

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	The St Chinian appellation is limited to an area that extends over twenty communes: CREISSAN, CEBAZAN, FERRIÈRES-POUSSAROU, BABEAU-BOULDOUX, PRADES-SUR-VERNAZOBRES, SAINT NAZAIRE DE LADAREZ, MURVIEL-LES-BEZIERS, SAINT-CHINIAN, CRUZY, QUARANTE, VILLESPASSANS, CESSENON-SUR-ORB, CAUSSES-ET-VEYRAN, ROQUEBRUN, ASSIGNAN, BERLIU, PUISSERGUIER, PIERRERUE, CAZEDARNES and VIEUSSAN.

MAISON DES VINS
Avenue de la Promenade
34360 SAINT-CHINIAN
Telephone 04 67 38 11 69 - Fax 04 67 38 16 33
Internet: www.saint-chinian.com
Email: saint-chinian@wanadoo.fr

Summary:
1 The Natural Regional Park of Upper Languedoc 2 The Sidobre 3 The Montagne Noire (Dourgne, Sorèze...) 4 Mazamet and region 5 The Monts de Lacaune - Brassac du Tarn 6 The Lakes and the Salvetois 7 The Valley of the Thoré 8 The Montredonnais	9 The Valleys of the Orb and the Jaur 10 The Saint-Ponais 11 The Monts d'Orb Following the wine trail: 12 The Faugérois 13 The Minervois 14 The Saint-Chiniannais

thomas@idaeus.com