French Sud-Ouest is a wine-growing region bordered on the left by Bordeaux and on the right by Languedoc, and therefore is affected by the juxtaposition of Atlantic and Mediterranean climatic influences. The sub-region of Gaillac, a limestone plateau crossed by the river Tarn, is located 60 kilometers northeast of the city of Toulouse, and it is here that a property with five centuries of history is located, the Domaine Gayrard.
Wine has been made in Gaillac for at least 2,000 years. Around 1950, Maurice Gayrard, who was then in charge of the family estate, became one of the pioneers in the region to bottle the wine he made in his own lands. However, in the 1980s, due to a severe wine crisis in the region, the Domaine Gayrard decided to abandon wine production in order to take advantage of government support for the agricultural sector and turn its attention to cereal production.
It was already in the current century that Maurice’s great-grandson, Pierre, and his wife, Laure, decided to resume wine production. To do this, they converted the vines that still existed and elsewhere planted varieties that define Gaillac’s ampelographic heritage, such as mauzac, braucol, duras, fer servadou, and loin de l’oeil, with the aim of making wine that truly reflected the spirit of their land. In order to achieve this goal, they embraced artisanal and sustainable farming practices and subsequently obtained both organic certification in 2016 and biodynamic certification in 2019. The vineyards thus maintain an environmental balance between land, fauna, and flora.
In the cellar, the work is done following the most basic rules of gravity, in order to preserve the quality of the grapes until they are pressed and fermentation begins, which is triggered precisely by the action of the yeasts found in the grapes. Pierre and Laure vinify each plot separately so that they can scrutinize the characteristics of each one more accurately. Almost all of their wines are single varietal. The materials used for fermentation and aging are cement, stainless steel, and wood. All in all, the goal is to promote the biodiversity of their property, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
