Citron de Menton

The Confrérie des Magistrats du Citron de Menton is a 1901 Act association registered on 25 March 2026, with its headquarters in Menton. Its purpose is to celebrate, promote and protect Citron de Menton PGI (IGP) and all processed products derived from it, while safeguarding and promoting the know-how, folklore and traditional craftsmanship associated with the citrus fruit.

It aims to act as an ambassador for the five communes of the appellation area — Menton, Castellar, Gorbio, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and Sainte-Agnès — and, in this capacity, intends to organise or take part in lemon-themed events and forge partnerships with other brotherhoods and organisations, both in France and internationally.

Emilie, a former beautician, embarked on a new entrepreneurial venture in 2017 by creating "Emilie et les Citrons de Pépé", in the hills above Menton. Passionate about citrus growing, she cultivates several varieties there, including the famous citron de Menton PGI (IGP), as well as avocados. The farm also offers homemade products, lemon jelly and mandarin jelly. Emilie welcomes visitors by appointment to show them around the orchard and its citrus fruits.

The estate describes itself as a family-run property located in Gorbio, in the Menton hinterland, farmed across several generations by Marie-Christine and Albert Manguine, now joined by their son Frédéric. It encompasses nearly 450 olive trees of the Cailletier variety, from which olive oil, traditional salted olives and an artisanal olive paste are produced, alongside a citrus orchard — citrons de Menton, sweet and bitter oranges, mandarins, clementines, kumquats and cedrats — harvested when ripe and transformed into jams and jellies. Its claimed speciality, Citrolive®, is an olive oil made from fresh citrons de Menton using an exclusive registered process. The estate shop is open every day from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00.

Alain Delaboudinière produces Citron de Menton PGI (IGP) in the Garavan district of Menton. The Office de Tourisme de Menton lists him as an organic producer. Direct sales only, strictly by prior arrangement via email or telephone.

Citron d'Azur describes itself as the first boutique dedicated to Citron de Menton in Nice, opened by a couple passionate about regional produce to 'reveal the secrets of Menton produce to the residents and tourists of Nice'. Located at 15 rue du Collet, in Vieux Nice, it processes and markets PGI (IGP) Citron de Menton bought from a Menton producer-processor — describing itself as having no farm of its own.

The online catalogue brings together around a hundred products divided into four families — Alcohol, Sweet, Savoury and Well-being: jams, limoncello and beers made with PGI Citron de Menton, olive oil preparations and preserved lemons, scented candles and cosmetics. The boutique also sells fresh PGI Citron de Menton by the kilo, depending on the season and by prior reservation. It claims the 'Escapade Gourmande' label from the Gault&Millau guide.

Maison Gannac presents itself as a family-run citrus farm founded in 1988 by Laurent Gannac, an agronomist originally from the Lot who settled in Menton; his son Adrien joined him in 2015. The estate cultivates around thirty species and varieties of citrus fruits in orchards on restanques, using traditional and organic methods.

It markets citron de Menton PGI (IGP) and its processed products — organic limoncello, jams, syrups, condiments, olive paste, olive oils — under the brand La Maison du Citron, in shops in Menton and Nice as well as online. Domaine Gannac, at 2970 route de Super Garavan in Menton, can be visited from Tuesday to Saturday, with a tasting and a nursery featuring rare varieties — yuzu, cédrats, Buddha's hands, combavas.

In 2007, Christophe Sacchelli took over the family citrus estate on Avenue de Prades in Menton, after twenty years spent working in removals within the family business. The orchard, which at the time lacked any real profitability — olive trees, collapsed dry-stone walls, abandoned plots —, has since been restored and replanted alongside his wife Christelle: some sixty to seventy trees replanted, for an estate that today boasts nearly 400 citrus trees, including around sixty lemon trees, spread across several plots on Avenue de Prades, in the valley, and up to the edge of the motorway on land leased by the municipality of Sainte-Agnès.

The couple grow Citron de Menton PGI (IGP) — the estate's driving crop — and are recognised by the association managing the appellation as certified organic producers. Alongside lemons, Christophe Sacchelli has diversified: oranges, mandarins, clementines, kumquats, and rarer citrus fruit — avocados, combava, finger lime, bergamot, lime, Buddha's hand. The estate also offers workshops centred on lemons and other local products — hydrosols, jams, aromatic herbs — bookable online, except during the Fête du Citron period.