Mauzac (grape)

Mauzac or Mauzac blanc a white variety of grape used for wine, of the species Vitis vinifera. It is mainly grown in the Gaillac and Limoux regions in southwest France. Total French plantations of Mauzac stood at 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) in the year 2000.

Gaillac's aromatic wines are blended with Len de l'El to create mildly sweet and sparkling white blended wines. Since the late 1980s, some Gaillac producers have created an interest in Mauzac by producing better wines. In Limoux, Mauzac is a compulsory part of the Blanquette de Limoux, where it may be blended with Chenin blanc and Chardonnay. However, in Limoux, plantations of Mauzac are decreasing as it is losing ground to Chardonnay. The grape is also one of the seven permitted white varieties in Bordeaux wine.

Mauzac buds and ripens late, and was traditionally picked quite late, when temperatures had dropped in Limoux. This allowed for slow fermentation preserving residual sugar for a "natural" second fermentation in the spring, creating a sparkling wine. Today, it is more common to pick Mauzac earlier, giving a more crisp wine with higher acidity, but also without much of its particular aromas.