IGP Vicomté d’Aumelas

In the heart of the Languedoc, between Montpellier and Béziers and to the north of Sète, the wine-growing region of the Vicomté d’Aumelas, which comprises 14 muncipalities, stretches over a small region of hills leaning against the north side of the Aumelas plateau. Going down from the resinous limestone soil of the garrigue in the Aumelas, the vineyards are planted in terraces of decreasing size toward the west, in soil formed of limestone gravel. The different types of soil, associated with the local bioclimate, constitute as much apt, wine-growing potential necessary to plant several grape varieties. The climate is of a harsh, Mediterranean type, with a marked absence of rainfall during the summer. The wines are strongly influenced by the particular environment of the middle Hérault Valley, where the river plays an important role in regulating the temperature. The red wines are elegant, while the white wines are fresh and fruity. The wines of the Vicomté d’Aumelas IGP benefit from all of the amassed expertise acquired over generations, as well as the most advanced technology, representing an alliance between the earth and history. The research of wine-growers leads to the construction of wines for their fruit and elegance, of pleasurable wines that privilege the adapted wine-making methods or the gentle extraction technologies used. The current production is 10,000 hl, 50% of red wine and the rest divided equally between whites and rosés. Primarily sold in France and in the countries of Northern Europe, almost all of the wine is bottle in the geographical area, thereby permitting the perfect mastery of the product and the validation of the sites of production.

The soils

The Vicomté d’Aumelas area is composed of alternate hills and basins on sandy-silty molasses, limestone sands, marls and sandstones. In the East, a low altitude plateau runs along the plain. On the right bank of the Hérault, soils composed of more recent alluvia can be found. They are dominated by Villafranchian terraces.

The PGI area rises in tiers from a minimal height of 20 meters in its western part drained by the Hérault to a rather high area in its eastern part (the top height is 340 meters). The variety of geological formations, remarkable as it is in itself, matches up with a history stretching from less than 200 million years ago to the present period as we move from East to West and we gradually go down to the lower parts. This “unity within diversity” is reinforced by the landscape of the production area, which is totally included in the so-called Middle Hérault Valley. The combination of these soil groups covers a large field of wine-making capacities, from fertile recent alluvial soils and colluvial soils to the sandy, stony soils of the old alluvial terraces. Vineyards have adapted to each type of soil with defined vines, wine-growing techniques and yields.

The climate

It is strictly Mediterranean in character with particularly low summer rainfall. Its main feature is changeable rainfall over the years.
Each “terroir” is characterized by this changeable rain water supply along with the capacity of each soil to store up and release a “useful reserve”. On the PGI Vicomté d’Aumelas, two levels of humidity and two series of temperature variations can be shown.

Cross-checking these two kinds of data enables us to distinguish between three sorts of climate on the Vicomté area from North to South:

Humid temperate
Sub-humid temperate
Sub-humid mild.

Crossing the various series of soils and the characteristics of the local climate makes it possible to adapt the different vines to the “terroir” with more precision.

Main vines

Red and rosé: Cabernet-Sauvignon, Carignan, Cinsault, black Grenache, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Syrah…

White: Chardonnay, white Grenache, Sauvignon, Viognier, Trebbiano…

Vicomté d’Aumelas, golden Valley wines

The name Golden Valley was chosen by wine-growers to describe their area and the Vicomté d’Aumelas PGI wines. This is the best way for them to present their wine range. The choice of vines and vinification techniques enables them to make harmonious blends thanks to which wines are supple and fruity even when their tannic backbone is complex.

Reds assert themselves in a genuine manner: robust robe, elegant balance between structure and roundness with a marked fruity character, they often are vintages for laying down, to be kept in your cellars for optimal tasting after ageing for a few years.

For whites and rosés, diverse vines make for a wide aroma range. Whether with pure vines or blending wines, the character sought is a really pure attack on the palate and one that should leave in your mouth a nice freshness. Expressive rosés for aperitif or with a spicy and exotic dish ; whites with supporting note in citrus or rounder, again for aperitif with a platter of shellfish from l’étang de Thau nearby or with fish from the Pacific coast. Choosing a Vicomté d’Aumelas wine is always a nice discovery, and the growing success of these “pleasure wines” that are served for all the festive events of the world’s wine lovers will only confirm it!

Economics, Entreprises

This small but rich area is crossed by a major trunk road, the A 75, linking Paris to Millau and the A9, running from Spain to Italy across the South of France. With the different major tourist spots nearby, from Salagou Lake to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, with the Larzac and the Mediterranean as horizons, many tourists go to the Vicomté d’Aumelas area and make a stop there. Also known for its dessert grapes, a quality trade name is now associated with its wines: Vallée dorée (Golden Valley).

PGI wine production is about 15,000 hectolitres marketed by 8 main businesses – 5 co-operative cellars and their union, and 2 independent wine-growers.

With several million necks in the Vicomté d’Aumelas, this PGI is present all across the world and packaged not only in bottles of 25, 50, 75 centilitres , up to 3 litres, but also in Bibs (bag-in-box), which is very convenient and secure to drink at home or for bars or restaurants. This PGI was created in March 1975 by the wine-growers to have their work and the typical character of their products recognized, it has been unceasingly developing with genuine and well-liked wines. Nowadays, they can be found on the tables of the whole world from the United States to Japan, to China and Belgium.

http://www.igp-vicomtedaumelas.com/