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Aquitaine
Across the sandy plateau of the Landes, bees forage through the seasons for seven different honeys — from delicate acacia with notes of white flowers to bitter, lingering strawberry tree, by way of ling heather, whose texture gels when at rest.
Honey from Aquitaine.
Writings dating back to the 12th century already attest to the importance of beekeeping in the Landes and to the apicultural practices of the time: across these expanses, then largely marshland and difficult to travel through, only pastoral and beekeeping activities made it possible to make use of an area deemed hostile. Hive products provided peasant beekeepers with supplementary income and were already traded well beyond the territory. The earliest recorded written mentions of the name 'Miel des Landes' date from the mid-19th century, in 1846.
The enactment in 1857 of the law relating to the drainage and pine planting of the Landes de Gascogne made travel easier across this previously difficult-to-access territory, and beekeeping developed as a result. Beekeeping remained a family pursuit until the 1950s, before gradually giving way to professional or semi-professional activity.
In 2006, a group of local beekeepers, supported by what is now the Association de Développement de l'Apiculture en Nouvelle-Aquitaine (ADANA), launched a collective initiative aimed at submitting an application for the 'Miel des Landes' PGI. The project was included in 2008 in the Saddier report 'Pour une filière apicole durable', then the formal application for recognition was officially submitted on 10 December 2019. In 2021, an INAO commission of inquiry visited the geographical area to validate its boundaries.
The INAO national committee approved the product specification on 24 May 2023, and the Syndicat des Miels des Landes (SML) was unanimously recognised as the defence and management organisation (ODG) for 'Miel des Landes' on 30 June 2023. The specification was approved by decree on 17 August 2023, before the file was forwarded to the European Commission on 22 September 2023 — opening a 'transitional phase' during which beekeepers wishing to market under this name must join the SML scheme. The independent body Qualisud certified the process on 26 June 2024 and approved the first four operators. The application was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 17 June 2026, opening the European opposition procedure that must precede definitive registration.
Appearance
colourless to very pale yellow for acacia, amber for bell heather and ling heather, dark brown to reddish for chestnut
Aroma
sweet, subtle and floral for acacia; woody, blending dried flowers, leather and liquorice for bell heather; strong and pungent, with notes of caramel and leather for chestnut
Taste
from delicate and sweet (acacia) to very bitter and lingering (chestnut, strawberry tree), by way of warm, spicy aromas for ling heather
Texture
fluid for spring honeys, up to the unique gelatinous texture of ling heather, which thickens after extraction (the phenomenon of thixotropy)
'Miel des Landes' covers seven honeys, monofloral or polyfloral, harvested in succession from spring to early winter:
(May) — colourless honey, delicate and sweet, notes of white flowers
(May–June) — light to dark brown, complex, ripe fruit flavours and caramel notes
(June–July) — brown, bitter and lingering, woody and caramel notes
(July–August) — amber, woody, almond aroma, slight bitterness
(August to October) — amber to dark, intense and lingering, warm and spicy notes
(October to December) — amber, bitter, notes of coffee or cocoa
('Fleurs des Landes') — a combination of several floral varieties, with no dominant one, whose colour and taste vary according to the harvest period
fixed or migratory, within the defined geographical area, depending on the type of honey sought.
a sought-after flower may only bloom for four to five days, demanding availability and responsiveness from beekeepers.
from acacia in May to strawberry tree at the end of the year, following successive honey flows.
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Given this spectrum of aromatic intensity, from delicate to powerful, spring honeys — acacia or alder buckthorn, delicate and short on the palate — are best enjoyed plain on a slice of bread or in a yoghurt, without overpowering their floral subtlety. Late-season honeys — bell heather, ling heather, chestnut, strawberry tree —, more powerful and at times tannic, pair with robust flavours: cheeses of character, game, or simply a thin slice of toasted country bread.
Two of these honeys have already found their place on starred tables: chef Christophe Dupouy put Landes ling heather honey on his menu in 2014, and the gourmet restaurant Villa Mirasol featured strawberry tree honey in 2019. Landes ling heather honey was also singled out as a remarkable product in Le grand guide Slow Food des produits du terroir français, published in 2018.
No official quality sign to date: PGI (IGP) 'Miel des Landes' is currently undergoing European registration (EU dossier no. PGI-FR-03002). Timeline of the process: launched in 2006 by a group of local beekeepers; application file submitted on 10 December 2019; product specification approved by the INAO national committee on 24 May 2023; the Syndicat des Miels des Landes (SML) recognised as a defence and management organisation (ODG) on 30 June 2023 (decision no. CNIGPLRSTG2023-03); specification approved by decree of 17 August 2023 (JORF no. 0194 of 23 August 2023); file forwarded to the European Commission on 22 September 2023; process certified by the independent body Qualisud on 26 June 2024; application for registration published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU OJ C, C/2026/3214) on 17 June 2026, opening the European opposition procedure. The PGI is therefore not yet registered.
No producer is listed for this product yet.