The Coteaux du Languedoc spreads across the Hérault and the Aude, bounded by the Mediterranean to the south and the last ridges of the Massif Central to the north, reaching from Narbonne eastwards towards Nîmes. The Greeks planted vines here around 2,500 years ago, which makes it among the oldest vineyards in France, and for most of the twentieth century it was also the largest source of cheap bulk wine in the country.

Appellation status came late, in 1985, and the decades since have been a slow unpicking of that bulk reputation. Yields were cut, high yielding varieties were replaced with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan, and the better sites were gradually separated out into their own appellations such as Pic Saint-Loup, La Clape and Terrasses du Larzac. Roughly 10,000 hectares remain under the regional name, making reds and rosés that are warm, herbal and strongly marked by the garrigue around them.