Picpoul wine variety in Australia 

This variety is from the Languedoc and Provence Regions of France.  See De Long's Wine Map of France

Naming variations and related varieties 

The French spelling of the variety is Piquepoul, but Picpoul or Picpoul Blanc is more commonly used name in Australia.

Other spellings include Piccapoule, Picquepoulle, Piquepout etc. There is a similar but unrelated Catalan variety Picapoll Blanco.  However the rare Spanish Picapoll Negra is actually a clone.

There are three different colour clones of Picpoul - Blanc, Gris and Noir.  The gris is very rare, and the vast majority of plantings are of the Blanc clone.

Picpoul de Pinet is a French AOC region on the Mediterranean Coast where the wine is a crisp dry white based on Picpoul.

Picpoul producers in Australia

Coriole Picpoul from the McLaren Vale region

In 2019 when I wrote Rare Ozzies I could only find four producers.  Now there are a couple of dozen producers, but we are sure to see more over the next couple of years.

• Bassham Wines Riverland
• Borrowed Cuttings Cowra
• Charles Melton Barossa Valley
• Coriole McLaren Vale
• Dune McLaren Vale
• Horner Hunter Valley
• Humis Heathcote
• Lloyd Brothers McLaren Vale
• Macaulay Wines Mclaren Vale
• Mercer Hunter Valley
• Ministry of Clouds McLaren Vale
• Mountain Ridge Central Ranges Zone
• Samson Tall McLaren Vale
• Symphony Hill Wines Granite Belt
• Yangarra Estate McLaren Vale

The taste of Picpoul

The wines from this variety are crisp dry with a good acidity.  They make ideal accompaniments to oysters or tapas style snacks. Otherwise try them with more substantial seafood dishes such as fish soup or brandade (Salt cod with creamed potatoes and garlic).

See the full list of varieties described on this site

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