Tasting Gaillac wines is like opening the doors to the richness of the Southwest's terroirs: sparkling wines, delicate white wines, fruity or barrel-aged reds, rosés, and even oranges! The Gaillac region, with its diverse soils, ancient and indigenous grape varieties, and winemaking methods, offers Gaillac winemakers a rarely equaled playground. The food and wine pairings are almost endless. Welcome to the incredible world of Gaillac wines.
Classic AOPs
Gaillac Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) wines, formerly known as AOC Gaillac, meet specifications that ensure, among other things, the use of grape varieties native to the appellation. To help you navigate the wines, our specialist has compiled a profile of Gaillac's red, white, and rosé wines.
AOP Gaillac Red
For the reds, indulgence is the key word! Mainly from indigenous grape varieties Braucol, Duras, Prunelard, and the international Syrah, Gaillac reds are balanced, distinctive wines with rounded tannins that retain a beautiful aromatic freshness. Never heard of these grape varieties? Catch-up session 😉. Braucol is characterized by vegetal notes that are reminiscent of those of Cabernet Franc, but also incredible aromas of blackcurrant when harvested at maturity, a characteristic that is quite rare in wine. Duras, it is white pepper and violet that define it. As for the marker of the Blackthorn, it's the blackberry and the plum. These three typical Gaillac grape varieties have one thing in common: spices at the end of the mouth, more or less pronounced depending on the vintage. To be tested, without further delay!
AOP Gaillac Dry White
Mauzac, Far from the eye et Ondenc, still unknown grape varieties! Mauzac comes in several colors: green, black, pink, white, the most common being white with aromas of apple and quince. Loin de l'Œil is the oldest of the Gaillac grape varieties: historians go back at least to the 16th century. Formerly passerille (pinched at the stalk to concentrate the sugars) to produce naturally sweet wines, it is now used for dry white wines: its notes of white flowers and exotic fruits bring a lovely freshness, combined, or not, with other grape varieties of the Appellation. Finally, Ondenc is the last of the grape varieties originating from Gaillac: less than ten hectares in France. Suffice to say that it is very rare to have the opportunity to taste an Ondenc wine… Except in Gaillac 😜.
AOP Gaillac Rosé
Mainly developed in direct press (juice harvested directly from the press), rosé does not come from a mixture of white and red wines, nor even from pink grapes! The grape varieties dedicated to rosé are often black grapes with white flesh and it is the absence of maceration (an operation aimed at macerating the skin, pulp and seeds, to integrate the tannins and aromas) which gives it its colour and freshness. In Gaillac, there is no need to look for grey or pale rosés: here, it is truly pink! Delicate, fine and fruity, we find aromas of English candy, spices and red fruits with the Duras, Braucol or SyrahWonderful companions for tapas as an aperitif, the rosés of the Appellation go wonderfully with spicy dishes or pork chops.
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Sparkling wines
AOP Gaillac “ancestral method”
In Gaillac, we don't wait for big events to treat ourselves and open a bottle of bubbly. Here, it's a real tradition. Some say that ancestral method, it is THE original method of making sparkling wine even before that of Champagne… But enough nonsense!
So what is this method? It all starts as for the development of a White wine : direct press, start of fermentation, transformation of sugar into alcohol… And there, at a precise moment, the winemaker decides to block the process by filtration and cooling before bottling the must. Then, fermentation starts again naturally, without adding sugar, unlike the traditional method. And here is how, in Gaillac, the effervescence occurs in the bottle 🍾.
One last thing to know about the Gaillac Ancestral Method: the wine is made from Mauzac exclusively and the harvest is manual. 🍇
Did you know ?
A unique cooperative in France
Gaillac is the only appellation in France to havea cooperative tool for the production of sparkling wines. The adventure began in 1983 with around twenty producers who created a Cooperative for the Use of Agricultural Equipment (CUMA). Installed in the basements of theSaint-Michel Abbey, they do everything by hand: bottling, disgorging, styling, etc.
In 1989, the CUMA moved to settle at the gates of Gaillac. As it equipped itself with more efficient equipment, the production process was better controlled. Today, the CUMA has become a Cooperative Society and brings together 90 members, each of whom is responsible for their wine and chooses the method that suits them: ancestral ou traditional…There are even pet'nat (it’s the same as an ancestral method, but without adding any inputs)!
AOP Gaillac Dry White Pearl
On musts, most frequently Mauzac, Far from the eye et Muscadelle, a second fermentation is started, making the wine “bead”, then stopped before bottling. The Pearl » reveals aromas of apple et citrus. With a beautiful liveliness and an elegant freshness, it is ideal as an aperitif or with seafood.
The difference with the ancestral method? It has nothing to do with it! In the ancestral method, the fermentation in the bottle is an alcoholic fermentation, whereas, for the Perlé it is the malolactic fermentation. It's a bit technical, we grant you. The easiest thing to do is to taste and compare! 😉
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The winegrowers' agenda
AOP Gaillac wines for those with a sweet tooth
AOP Gaillac “Late Harvest”
Production rare and exclusivee, because the production of this wine depends on several factors: a beautiful late season and morning mists favoring the development of the noble rot and thereby the concentration of natural sugars.
This is called passerillage on the vine. The grapes of Out of sight andOndenc are hand-picked, late, and the wine is aged for 2 years at least. The result is naturally sweet wines of great complexity and power. The length in the mouth, with aromas of quince, honey, dried fig and exotic fruits, is underpinned by a beautiful acidity, making any imagined heaviness disappear.
AOP Gaillac sweet
From a selection of plots of Mauzac, Far from the eye et Muscadelle, the harvest takes place after the grapes have concentrated their sugar on the vine. The vinification is carried out at low temperatures in order to preserve all the aromas. Their nose is intense, the mouth is smooth with a beautiful balance of aromas of pear, candied fruit, baked apple or quince.
Red and white premiere
The red primers are from the Gamay and vinified in carbonic maceration. This technique gives typical amyl and red fruit aromas, a nice freshness and a reduced presence of tannins. whites are fine and lively, citrus aromas and White flowers.
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