white grape · regional staple
Clairette
Languedoc, France
Say it
kleh·ret
On the palate
green applewhite peachapricotlimeorange blossomfennel
How you spot it blind: persistent bitter finish compensating for low acidity; waxy, high-alcohol texture
The story
First written down · 1575, Aude, Languedoc
Historically prized for vermouth production throughout the Midi, Clairette once covered roughly 34,000 acres in southern France by the late 1950s before losing ~85% of French plantings to higher-acid varieties by 2016.
Where it lives
Languedoc-Roussillon, France · Southern Rhône Valley, France · Drôme Valley, France · Provence, France
Shows up as
still whitesparklingClairette de DieClairette du LanguedocClairette de BellegardeChâteauneuf-du-Pape