The style of winemaking that would become associated with Maury has its roots in the work of the Catalan alchemist and physician Arnaldus de Villa Nova. He perfected the technique of stopping fermentation with distilled alcohol in the late 13th century and was given an exclusive patent on the process by King James II of Majorca. In 1872, Roussillo politician François Aragon convinced the French government to legally recognize the style of "vin doux naturels" as wines which had residual sugar and sweetness retained from having their fermentation stopped with grape spirits. In 1936, the "Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité" (INAO) established Maury as an officially recognized AOC.