Rosemary George MW, well-known for her exhaustive “The Wines of the South of France”, has published a new, thoroughly updated book called “The Wines of the Languedoc”.

She devotes a chapter to Limoux, that “wild undulating area… where small, independent producers are growing in number.” Of the 41 villages making up the Appellation, she sites “the most significant are Roquetaillade, Antugnac and Cépie”, and concludes with a visit to those “spectacular vineyards in the hills outside the village of Cépie” called Château Rives-Blanques, “where things never stand still”.

From there, “the view of the Pyrenees is spectacular” she writes.

She mentions the entire Rives-Blanques range of wines, making special mention of Dédicace, “a lovely example of Chenin that shows how well it suits the Languedoc. The 2004 was drinking deliciously when it was 12 years old”.