Blanquette méthode ancestrale is a sparkling wine produced around the city of Limoux in Languedoc in southwestern France.
It is produced using traditional methods without disgorgement, in the same area as Blanquette de Limoux, and may only contain Mauzac grapes. Due to the absence of disgorgement, these wines are generally very cloudy with particles of the sediment of dead yeast cells, known as lees, still present in the wine. The winemaking method used to make Blanquette méthode ancestrale is also known as the méthode gaillacoise, and is used to make the sparkling Mousseux wine of the Gaillac AOC.
This method involves traditional hand crafted winemaking, with minimum use of modern technology such as stainless steel fermentation tanks. The resulting wines are typically low in alcohol (often less than 7% by volume), with sweet apple-like flavors and a slight sparkling fizz.