I love sparkling wines of all kinds. I particularly love when I find one made from an indigenous grape. Today’s wine is a Blanquette di Limoux made from the Mauzac grape found in Southwestern France. It feels appropriate to drink French wine on Memorial day weekend when so many of the French died fighting in numerous wars alongside Americans.

While many in the southwest now make sparkling wines from chardonnay, there are many in Limoux and Gaillac who still make wines with the traditionl grape varieties. This nicely priced wine, at around $15 has the white fruit notes I would expect as well as some honeyed and creamy undertones that I would see in Chenin Blanc. I am sure on a blind tasting this would trip me up but maybe if I drink a lot more of it, I will get it right.

The variety is an late ripener and needs a long growing season to reach its full potential. It has nice acidity however and makes for a lovely sparkler.

This photo is of the town of Saint-Hilaire, where the Blanquette de Limoux wines were born. The soils are a mixture of clay and calcareous matter.