Grape Variety: Macabeu

Colour: White

Long established in Roussillon, Macabeu, or Maccabéo, is a varietal of Catalan origin (some say that it is originally from Asia Minor).It is a vigorous vine, whose branches break in the wind, which is sensitive to drought (it doesn’t suit dry soils) and doesn’t like fertile and wet plains where its large, compact bunches rot easily. Its ideal soil is on slopes, not too stony, hot, well-drained and not too rich. That is undoubtedly the reason why it is quite widespread in the Agly valley. Late maturing and quite fertile, Macabeu is susceptible to powdery mildew. Its grapes are of average size, with a strong skin, and a light green colour, very sweet, with a sophisticated and delicate taste. The grapes are harvested in early September for the dry wines and carefully made into an original, colourful, quite full-bodied, delicate dry white wine with quite subtle aromas and a nose of ripe fruits. When it is mature, its high alcohol content lends a full-bodied quality to some blends of red wines. In red Vins Doux Naturels, it is a secondary but important varietal. In white Vins Doux Naturels, it is the main grape. When aged, mostly associated with Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc, its qualities are accentuated and it almost miraculously produces delicate and complex aromas that are truly phenomenal.

The wines from this region obtain their unique flavour, texture and vibrancy from permeable soils - crumbly schists, gneiss, the odd vein of white quartz – and the ubiquitous garrigue.

Marjorie Gallet’s Roc des Anges Vin de Pays des Pyrenees-Orientales Vieilles Vignes (the name is a mouthful, so is the wine), from seventy year old vines grown on quartz soils, is a brilliant tender white with a rich yet delicate palate of quince and spiced pear backed by mineral intensity.

Olivier Pithon uses Macabeo in his Cotes du Roussillon Blanc, Cuvee Lais (50% of the blend with Grenache Gris). Floral aromas of vine blossom cascade out of the glass, mango, pink grapefruit and citrus arc across the palate allied to the hint of wild herbs. A vinous wine with excellent balance and superb length. His D 18 comes from yields as low as 10hl/ha. Aged in old foudres it is an extraordinary wine exuding apples, almonds, and honeysuckle, slightly sherry aromas whilst on the palate notes of and fennel, olive and dried fruit.

Macabeo is also the most widely cultivated white variety in northern Spain and the most important white grape in the Rioja region, where it’s called Viura. It’s because of Macabeo’s higher yields (and not the quality of its wines) that this variety is pushing out the more traditional white grapes used in Rioja white wines such as Malvasia and Garnacha Blanca. Macabeo-based wines are generally light high in acidity, slightly floral and fairly fruity. Macabeo is often blended with Xarel-lo and Parellada to make sparkling wines, particularly Cava.

These rich wines would work well with pork or rabbit dishes as well as meaty fish or shellfish such as hake or scallops.