For the record..
The vine was cultivated since the Antiquity. The vestiges of the Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac (Gers) or the workshops of Montans, near Gaillac (Tarn), which produced wine ceramics in large quantities, testify to this. In the Middle Ages, it is from the 11th century onwards that, under the impulse of the Church, viticulture was widely developed. Numerous Benedictine abbeys (Saint-Michel in Gaillac, the monastery of Saint-Mont) or Cistercian abbeys (Grand Selve in Lomagne), powerful bishoprics (Pamiers in Ariège) or knightly orders (Fronton) gained a solid reputation for the quality of their production. These wines, known as "clarets", i.e. light in color and to be drunk young, were exported via Bordeaux to England and Flanders
In the 18th century, the regional wines shone: indeed, the winegrowers had adapted to the changes in the market. Faced with the competition of all the hot and light drinks that were newly fashionable (herbal teas, tea or coffee), they proposed fuller-bodied, more colorful, denser wines, full-bodied wines such as madiran or brulhois, called "black wines". But the Bordelais did not see it that way. They created a wine police which imposed strict regulations on the wines of the hinterland! The vineyards of the South-West were crushed by their two powerful neighbors, the aforementioned Bordelais and the Languedocians. Having no more outlets to the outside world, they were restricted to local consumption.
The phylloxera crisis completed the decline. We replanted but with hybrid grape varieties, unfortunately very mediocre. Then the terrible winter of 1956 saw, once again, the main part of the vines perish under the cold of the frosts. Many farmers gave up vine growing while others resisted by choosing quality products and by forming dynamic and well equipped cooperatives.
Protected wines and committed winemakers
The wine industry has an advocate: the Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Sud-Ouest - spread over more than 6,000 vineyards and 12 departments. Housed within INRA, it oversees the grape varieties, appellations and wine-growing areas of the Greater Southwest with 29 PDOs and 13 PGIs, from Tursan (Landes) to Côtes-de-Millau (Aveyron), including Saint-Sardos, Irouleguy (Basque Country) or Madiran (Hautes-Pyrénées). It supports research, monitors quality and competition and organizes public information missions. A new concept called "Sud-Ouest de cœur" has been created in order to promote the region's wines as part of the art of living of a whole territory.
In Gascony
, 1500 producers give birth to the Côtes de Gascogne wines with 90% of whites (the Gers is the first French department for the production of white wine) with pronounced tastes of exotic fruits and citrus. The reds have notes of red fruits (cherry, strawberry) or black fruits (black currant, blackberry). Another Gascony vineyard, the Côtes de St-Mont. It covers the hillsides of 49 communes bordering the Landes and the Hautes-Pyrénées and is celebrated every year during the vineyard festival on the last weekend of March (visits to the cellars and castles, tastings, animations...). Fronton wines are AOC since 1975. The Maison des vins offers to discover the estates spread over the 2400 ha, cultivated with patience by 74 farmers. The Gaillac appellation covers 2500 ha spread over 73 communes plunging into the Tarn, with a hundred private wineries and three cooperatives; it has had an AOC since 1938 for its dry, sweet and pearl whites. The release of its primeur wine on the third Thursday of November is a highly anticipated festive moment. The small vineyard of Brulhois, about 200 ha south of the Garonne, brings together winegrowers from Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne and Lot-et-Garonne; it produces mainly reds and rosés.Other confidential vineyards are Saint-Sardos, straddling the Tarn-et-Garonne and Haute-Garonne, which covers 230 hectares; here the raspy tannat is softened by the fruitiness of the syrah - or Lavilledieu, wedged between Montauban and Castelsarrasin, a wine essentially based on négrette which ages well. Almost unknown, although attached to the regional capital, the vineyard of Domaine de Candie (owned by the city of Toulouse) is beginning to build a solid reputation; the 14 ha of vines - certified Organic Agriculture - are part of an agricultural farm attached to a fortress dating from the 11th century.
Beautiful gustatory qualities
If the reds are easy to drink and supple in Gaillac, Fronton or Lavilledieu, they are powerful and tannic in Madiran and in the Côtes de St-Mont. The main native grape varieties are fer servadou (called braucol in Gaillac or pinenc in Gascony), malbec, duras, tannat and negrette. In turn, the whites seduce for their ample bouquet in Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, because they are very aromatic and lively in Côtes de Gascogne, sometimes pearly as in Gaillac, or sweet and amber in Pacherenc, especially the one of St-Sylvestre harvested on December 31. The characteristic grape varieties are len de l'el, petit and gros-manseng, colombard and muscadelle.
Once upon a time, there was Armagnac..
Three successive civilizations are at the origin of the most beautiful brandy: Armagnac. The Celts bequeathed the barrel and the art of the cask; the Romans massively introduced the vine and the Arabs brought the alembic, essential to the distillation of theaygo ardento used in particular for its disinfectant and curative virtues. Thus was born "the oldest wine alcohol in France". A fairy tale beginning, isn't it?
At the beginning, there is a nasty city: Bordeaux, which since 1373 forbids the access to its port to the wines of the hinterland. They had to wait until November 11 and then Christmas, sometimes on the quay. To avoid losing their harvest, the winegrowers decided to use the magic of fire. By burning in cauderos the wine that had become brandy, they could then wait for the opening of the seas in March or April of the following year when the Dutch sailors, very fond of it, came to look for it at the port of the moon or in Bayonne. It became the export product sought after by the northern peoples. It is the success, we are in the XVIIth century. A beautiful revenge. The plantations multiply supported by the Intendant of Étigny thanks to the edict of 1766. The "folle blanche" - a grape variety also called "piquepoult" - invaded the hillsides. Once the crisis of the ugly aphid was over, the people of Gers obtained from President Fallières (himself a wine grower) the recognition in 1909 of the product under three appellations: Bas-Armagnac, Haut-Armagnac and Ténarèze. In 1936, the vineyard received the appellation of controlled origin.
And the white wines aged happily in their wooden barrels scenting the cellars of their Part des Anges!
But before that, there is a whole ritual around the distillation. The emotion of seeing the still arrive in the cellar. The circulation of the wine in continuous distillation which, as soon as it comes out of the copper coil, is placed in 400 liter oak barrels: the pieces are then stored under the shelter of the frames, with constant temperature and humidity. The degree of alcohol is then between 40 and 48°. Then, the cellar master proceeds to the blending - the cuts. The life of the armagnac follows that of the winemaker. Up to 3 years old, it is a child. Adulthood is between 3 and 10 years, then it enters the prime of life from 10 to 40 years. After 40 years in the barrel, it declines... it's the end! The good news is that once it is bottled, it does not age anymore. We therefore differentiate the time spent in the barrel from the time spent in the bottle: 3*** for at least one year in wood; VO (very old), VSOP (very superior old pale) or Reserve for a minimum of 4 years in wood; Extra, Napoleon, XO and Vieille Réserve from 5 years. An armagnac can be ten years old but from the 1965 harvest!
Another ritual: its tasting. You have to take your time. First, you pour two fingers into a balloon glass with a closed neck to retain the fragrances. We judge the color, the limpidity, and we make light delicate turns to make it cry or to see if it has leg, signs of quality! Then, the glass is heated in the palm of your hand and you put your nose in the opening to perceive the bouquet of prune, quince, hazelnut, violet, vanilla... depending on the origin. After the fire of the first sip comes the taste of rancio. There, the armagnac makes the tail of peacock. It has aged well and delights the taste buds. Finally, we do not wash the glass once the tasting is finished because it will diffuse the smell of the matured fruits in the whole room! An olfactory delight when you wake up the next day.
Other alcoholic delights to enjoy... but in moderation.
It has already been written: the peasant soul does not throw away anything. The methods of conservation benefit from the good sense of the land and the greed.Hypocras is appreciated since the Middle Ages by the crusaders going to the Holy Land for its tonic virtues, good for the body and the mind. It warms up and keeps you thinking clearly. Or almost! It is in Tarascon-sur-Ariège that the Séguéla family has brought back to life this drink that was once found on royal tables. Gaston Phoebus, Henri IV, Rabelais, or Louis XVI enjoyed dipping their lips in this beverage made of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger, rose petals... brought back from the East. A beautiful brown color to be drunk as an aperitif or as a digestive.
In Gascony
, where celebrating is accompanied by feasting, Floc, which means "flower", is drunk white or red. A 16° liqueur wine made from a mixture of fresh grape juice (2/3) and white wine (unaged armagnac), it is made at harvest time. It is drunk chilled as an aperitif or in place of a sweet wine. It accompanies the hollow of the melon of Lectoure or the rustic cheeses. Thefirst juice
just out of the press, not yet fermented or in the beginning of fermentation, is called "le bourret". It changes color or sweetness according to the harvest of the day. It marks the time of the harvest and is drunk during local celebrations, often accompanied by chestnuts roasted on the fire of the vine stock, of course.To finish in beauty and to honor the famous Musketeers
, Gascons with a strong character and a fine blade: the Pousse-rapière. This 100% Gascon liqueur, made from armagnac flavored with orange and coffee (Shhh! The recipe is the secret of the families of the region only!), was born in the cellars of the Château de Monluc, in St-Puy. It can be drunk as an aperitif (be careful because it slides down smoothly but gives a rapier blow in the second time!). A very fresh cocktail which is not prepared anyhow. First, we take a flute engraved with a rapier. Then, one pours the liqueur until the level of the point of the rapier, then one adds the wild wine (an effervescent white realized with the same type of vines as the liqueur) until the top of the handle of the rapier, an ice cube and a half-round of orange. Finally, one savors before passing to table. Many brotherhoods maintain the traditions and the reputation around these numerous wines and spirits!
