Maison Antech

Limoux holds a distinction few wine regions can claim: it’s the birthplace of sparkling wine. In 1544, a monk at the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire bottled his Blanquette before fermentation had finished, and the bubbles that resulted predate Champagne’s by decades. Since 1860, the Antech family — known to many by its Cuvée Françoise collection — has farmed these same hillsides, where cool Pyrenees air meets a Mediterranean climate. Their vines sit around 400 meters on south-facing slopes, benefiting from natural drainage, wide day-night temperature swings, and snowmelt that keeps the hills cool into spring — the tension and freshness sparkling wine depends on.

The estate has been organic since 2020, with hand harvesting and a focus on Mauzac, the grape for Blanquette de Limoux. They also grow Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir for their Crémant wines, and added an olive grove in 2023. Their sustainability efforts include lightweight glass and full waste recycling since 2022.

Now in its seventh generation, Family Antech has an unusual history of being led by women, including Zélie, Eugénie, and Marguerite. Brothers Georges and Roger Antech shifted the estate to sparkling wine exclusively in the 1960s and ’70s. Today it’s led by Françoise Antech-Gazeau and her son Baptiste, who joined a few vintages ago with a Master’s in Entrepreneurship and Wine Management. The Cuvée Françoise collection — Blanquette, Crémant, and rosé Crémant, all traditional method — carries Françoise’s name and spirit, down to its floral labels by Montpellier artist Nicolas Martin.

Cuvée Francoise Blanquette di Limoux