Piquepoul Noir

Picpoul Noir (or Piquepoul Noir) is a rare black-skinned variant of green-skinned Picpoul Blanc, the variety best known in its Picpoul de Pinet guise. Only a tiny number of Picpoul Noir vines remain, and almost all of them are located in southern France, in the southern end of the Rhone Valley and in patches of eastern Languedoc. A handful of the vines are also found growing in Spain, where the variety is known as Picapoll Negro.

The variety is almost never vinified on its own (although a few Picpoul Noir rosés are made in the Languedoc); it is nearly always used in blends. The world’s few varietal Picpoul Noirs are light in color but highly perfumed and have a good acid structure and high alcohol.

Picpoul Noir is permitted as a minor component in the wines of the Rhone Valley’s famous Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, in which it is blended with Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Terret Noir, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Picardan, Cinsaut, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc.