Palette is a small French wine AOC in the Provence region of southern France, near

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

. The AOC was established in 1948. The grapes for this AOC are grown in Aix-en-Provence, Meyreuil, and

Le Tholonet Le Tholonet (; ''Lou Toulounet'' and ''Lo Tolonet'' in Provençal) is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Tholonétiens''. Geography The commune is near Aix-en-Provence, and at the foot ...

. The hamlet of Palette, which gives its name to the AOC, is located on the territory of the commune of Le Tholonet.Palette A.O.C.
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AOC rules

Grapes destined for red, white and

rosé A rosé () is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine. It may be the oldest known type of wine, as it is the most straightforward to make with the skin contact method. ...

wines of Palette must be harvested to a yield no greater than 40 hl/ha and the finished wines must all attain a minimum alcohol level of at least 11%. The blend for the reds and rosé must be composed of a minimum 80%

Grenache Grenache () or Garnacha () is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. Niels Lillelund: ''Rhône-Vinene'' p. 25, JP Bøger – JP/Politikens Forlagshus A/S, 2004. . It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditi ...

, Mourvedre and/or Cinsault with the remaining 20% permitted to be a blend from

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse B ...

, Carignan Castet, Manosquin,

Muscat noir Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

and

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pp. 91 Firefly Books 2004 The whites of Palette are composed of at least 80% Clairette with Bourboulenc,

Trebbiano Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it h ...

, Grenache blanc and several white varieties Muscat permitted to round out the remaining 20%.

References

{{reflist Provence wine AOCs