Cuvée Françoise Blanquette de Limoux
WHY WE LOVE IT
- Cuvée Françoise NV Blanquette de Limoux comes from the Limoux appellation in France’s Languedoc-Roussillon, birthplace of the world’s first sparkling wine in 1544.
- Draws on all three of Limoux’s distinct terroirs — the cooling Pyrenees, the coast, and the Mediterranean — blended into one wine.
- Named for Françoise Antech, a sixth-generation member of the family behind Maison Antech.
- Ages well beyond the appellation’s legal minimum, giving it real depth for the category.
- The vineyard soils are on clay-limestone hillsides, with vines between 20 and 40 years old.
Varietal Composition: 100% Mauzac
Elaboration: The grapes are picked by hand and pressed directly, with the must fermented in stainless steel tank under controlled temperature. The wine then undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, aging on its lees for around 30 months before disgorgement, with a dosage of 6 g/L.
Tasting Notes: Bright and refreshing, with aromas and flavors of pear and honey, and a mouthfeel of complex yet balanced bubbles.
PRESS
n/a
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Since 1860, the Antech family has grown grapes on the hillsides above Limoux — the town credited with producing the world’s first sparkling wine back in 1544 — where cool Pyrenees air meets a Mediterranean climate at around 400 meters of elevation. The family farms organically, harvests entirely by hand, and centers its wines on Mauzac, the indigenous grape unique to the region, alongside Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir. In the cellar, each variety is fermented separately at low temperature, aged slowly on its lees, and bottled with minimal dosage to let the terroir speak.
Now in its seventh generation and led for much of its history by women, the family is today helmed by Françoise Antech-Gazeau and her son Baptiste. Beyond the vineyard, the Antechs have built a reputation for community involvement — Françoise has sponsored the Limoux Brass Festival since 2009 and co-founded Vinifilles, an association supporting women in Occitanie’s wine industry. Their Cuvée Françoise collection, spanning a Blanquette de Limoux, a Crémant de Limoux, and a rosé Crémant, takes its name — and its playful, floral label design — directly from Françoise herself.