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
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