Comment:
Carignan update…I heard back from a MW who lives in the south of France who says the appellation limits Corbieres to 50% in the blend except for those with primarily carignan in their vineyards(kudos to Leon for pointing this out). This seems to make the AOC a bit ‘redundant’ to me but so it goes. It seems a wine high in carignan would have to be labelled Vin de Pays(as Dave E. pointed out with d’Aupilhac in Monpeyroux)instead of Corbieres. I had read a book some time ago that stated the local AOC board was composed of local winemakers and they got together to taste all the wines from their region and decided if they were representative of the zone. If so, they passed. If this is in effect in Corbieres then all the wine must be is ‘worthy’ of the region. It seems to me the AOC should just limit the grape varieties and not specify percentages. And they lived happily ever after………..

Yes, it’s too bad that so few syndicats/AOCs have good web sites. Often the best bet for information on the wine internet in France comes from the so-called “interprofession” (growers and negociants) from each region.

In this case, here’s the link for Corbieres AOC:
http://www.languedoc-wines.com/english/aoc_corbieres.asp

And here’s the text about grapes:
Grapes
For red wines and rosés, Carignan 50 % maximum, Syrah, Black Grenache, Mourvedre, Lledoner Pelut and Cinsault (20 % for red wines, 70 % for rosés).
For the white wines, Bourboulenc, White Grenache, Maccabeu, Clairette, Marsanne, Roussanne, Rolle or Vermentino. Terret blanc, Picquepoul and Muscat (maxi 10 %).

I also checked out the INAO web site, a national organization for AOCs. This is what they said about permitted grape varieties:
- vins rouges
cépages principaux : Carignan N, Grenache N, Lladonner Pelut, Mourvèdre, syrah,
cépages accessoires : Cinsault, piquepoul N, grenache gris Terret N, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache N, Lladoner 50% mini, Carignan, Piquepoul N, Terret N 50% maxi, Cinsault < 20%,Grenache gris max 10%
Nota : 2 cépages au minimum

Although the wine has to be a blend, there's no indication of a maximum for Carignan.
http://www.inao.gouv.fr/public/produits/detailProduit.php?ID_PRODUIT=6044

Jean-Louis Tribouley has made a couple vintages of 100% Carignan as “Vin de Pays de Cote Catalan.” Haven’t gotten to the ’08 yet, but the ’07 was spectacular–very big, but saved from fruit-bombdom by the aforementioned acidity.

Discovering that Santa Ema made 100% Carignan from 100-year-old vines in the Colchauga Valley was a happy discovery a year or two back. It’s bottled as part of the premium “Amplus” line. The first (and only) vintage I tasted was 2006, and it was very nearly in the class of Tribouley’s wine. Which, upon reflection, it should have been, since it cost about $5 more at retail.

Is it available anywhere else?

Some spectacular old vine Carignan is made by Clos du Gravillas in Minervois, whose owner John Bojanowski even founded a Carignan defence group at http://www.carignans.com.