Gaillac
Oceanic with Mediterranean touches
One of France's oldest vineyards, in the Tarn valley, built on local grapes such as Mauzac, Len de l'El, Duras and Braucol, and the home of the once-rare Prunelard.
Overview
About Gaillac
Gaillac has been making wine since Roman times, and the appellation covers both banks of the Tarn. Its identity rests on local grapes: Mauzac and Len de l'El for whites, and Duras, Braucol (Fer Servadou) and Syrah for reds, and it is where the near-extinct Prunelard, a parent of Malbec, has been revived.
It makes almost every style: dry and sweet whites, reds, rosés, and sparkling wines made by the traditional Gaillac method, which bottles the wine before its first fermentation has finished.
Gaillac is marked on the map.
France
Shaded: Tarn. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Oceanic with Mediterranean touches
Warm summers with a long, dry autumn, which helps the late-ripening local grapes, and mild winters.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Gravel and alluvial terraces on the right bank of the Tarn, and limestone and clay slopes on the left.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Robert Plageoles
A family estate that has done much to save local grapes such as Prunelard and Ondenc.
Causse Marines
An organic estate for natural-leaning whites and reds.
Domaine d'Escausses
A family estate with a range of local-grape wines.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.