AOC Banyuls Grand Cru wines awarded at the Gilbert & Gaillard International Challenge

A.O.C./A.O.P.

Of all the Grand Roussillon dessert wine appellations, AC Banyuls is the best known. The area sits within the same boundaries as AC Collioure and embraces four towns and villages (Banyuls, Collioure, Port Vendres, Cerbère). It climbs the abrupt hillsides on terraces propped up with dry stone walls. The skeletal soils lay on Cambrian shale. Banyuls is divided into a basic AC Banyuls and a Banyuls Grand Cru. Wine-making techniques: Banyuls is a dessert wine made by the fortification process, whereby the wine grower adds 96% proof neutral spirit to grapes during alcoholic fermentation. By using this process, aroma compounds can be fully extracted from young wines. The ageing phase begins around five weeks after maceration. Banyuls Grand Cru must spend at least 30 months in oak whilst basic Banyuls is aged either in glass demi-johns or carefully sealed barrels kept in a cool, damp environment. They can also be stored outside to develop slightly oxidised aromas. Grenache noir, the appellation’s primary varietal, must account for at least 50% of the blend for Banyuls and 75% for Banyuls Grand Cru. Some single vintage wines bottled prior to oxidation are labelled ‘Rimage’.

Grape varieties: VDN : grenache noir, grenache gris, grenache blanc, tourbat, muscat d'Alexandrie, muscat à petits grains, carignan, cinsault, syrah

The wines of this appellation

AC Banyuls yields red, rosé and white dessert wines from the same varietal range. The red wines boast a ruby-red hue with mahogany tints in the early years, evolving into brick-red with copper tints over time. On the palate, they are supple, powerful, well-constituted, tannic wines with intense aromas of dried and crystallised fruits, morello cherries in brandy, vanilla, coffee…. Try as an appetiser or with desserts like chocolate cake. White Banyuls, with their elegant straw-yellow hue, are highly unusual. They can be made either as sweet, dry aged in new oak or medium sweet wines. Their character stems from the Grenache blanc varietal and they reveal delicate floral, citrus fruit and honeyed notes. Enjoy with foie gras, blue cheeses or desserts with honey.