🍷 Moelleux
Also known as: French medium-sweet wine
A French word for soft, medium-sweet or sweet white wine.
Moelleux is a French word for a soft white wine with noticeable sweetness. Literally it means mellow or velvety. On labels it usually marks wines that are sweeter than off-dry but not as rich as liquoreux dessert wines.
Under EU rules, moelleux is the French term for medium-sweet wine, with 12 to 45 grams of sugar per litre. In everyday talk the word is also used for sweeter wines. The sugar comes from ripe, sometimes late-picked grapes, which may be touched by noble rot.
It should not be confused with liquoreux wines, which are sweeter and thicker. Most moelleux wines come from the Loire Valley and are made from Chenin Blanc. The best-known example is Vouvray, where one grape gives dry, medium-sweet and sweet wines. High acidity helps these wines age well, and over the years they develop notes of honey and quince.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Moelleux → made in → 🗺️ French wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Medium-sweet wine
- Where it is made
- 🗺️ French wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Medium-sweet wine, 📜 Vouvray
Frequently asked questions
Is moelleux a medium-sweet or a dessert wine?
By the EU rules it is medium-sweet, 12 to 45 g/l of sugar. In everyday talk the word may stretch to sweeter wines.
Is it true that moelleux and liquoreux mean the same thing?
No. Moelleux is softer and lighter; liquoreux wines are sweeter and thicker, with more than 45 g/l.
What happens to a moelleux Vouvray as it ages?
High acidity helps it age well, and over the years it develops notes of honey and quince.
Similar
🍷 Lieblich · 🍷 Amabile · 🍷 Grower Champagne · 🍷 Blended rosé · 🍷 Rasteau VDN · 🍷 Bianco vermouth
⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.