Saint-Chinian: Domaine les Païssels Le Banel

The Languedoc, though often referred to loosely as a single entity, is not a wine appellation in its own right but a broad Mediterranean region encompassing a wealth of individual appellations. Traditionally, labels carried the specific titles of Languedoc AOC and its numerous sub-regions, from Corbières and Minervois to Pic Saint-Loup and Faugères. Since January 2016, the historic Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées regions have been administratively merged into Occitanie, France's newest region. Stretching along the coast from the Rhône towards the Spanish border, the Languedoc is one of France's largest and most diverse wine-producing areas.

A small, highly regarded appellation in the Languedoc, lying 33 kilometres inland on the elevated, rocky soils where the Massif Central begins. A source of wine since ancient times, its 3,000 hectares produce red, white, and rosé, with reds built chiefly on Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. Officially established in 1982 for red and rosé - with white permitted since 2005 — it enjoys an exceptional terroir blessed by both Mediterranean and mountain influences.