white grape · regional specialty
Mauzac
Tarn Valley, Southwest France
Say it
moh·zak
Final 'c' is pronounced as a hard 'k'—unusual in French—because the name derives from the place name Mauzac in the Tarn.
On the palate
Body
light medium
Acidity
high
Aromatics
medium
green applepearquincelemonhoneyalmond
How you spot it blind: distinctive dried apple-peel aroma, cited by Jancis Robinson as the diagnostic note
The story
First written down · 1525, Tarn, France
Blanquette de Limoux produced at the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire near Limoux in 1531 is the earliest documented sparkling wine, per the Oxford Companion to Wine.
Where it lives
Limoux (Aude), France · Gaillac (Tarn), France
Shows up as
still whitesparklingBlanquette de Limouxpétillant naturelsweet