Gaillac AOC

Gaillac AOC is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in South West France in the département of Tarn, just north of Toulouse.

History

The region makes claims to be among the earliest viticultural centres of ancient Gaul, though possibly after those of Languedoc around Narbonne, with wine production established in early 1st century.Roman merchants transported wine to Bordeaux and Northern Europe down the Tarn River, and vineyards soon followed in the valley. Archaeologists have found Roman pottery in Montans.

The town of Gaillac grew up around a Benedictine monastery in the Middle Ages. As elsewhere, vineyards flourished in the care of the monks, who needed wine for religious purposes. In time the Counts of Toulouse gave Gaillac the right to put a rooster on the barrel in recognition of their wine.

Wines

Gaillac

Gaillac (French pronunciation: ​[ɡajak]; Occitan: Galhac) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.

Geography of Gaillac

Gaillac is a town situated between Toulouse, Albi and Montauban. It has gained much recognition due to the wines that bear the town's name. The Tarn river runs along the border of the town by the south, east and west. It lies 50 km north-east of Toulouse. It is a market town and is the commercial centre of the north-west of Tarn.

The local wine of Gaillac, first made almost two thousand years ago, is of two official appellations (AOC). The terroir is made up of clay, limestone, sand and silex soils. Gaillac receives more sunshine than Bordeaux and is graced by a cool maritime climate. Duras is the name both of the grape that is native to this area and of an AOC and town just northwest of the two "Gaillac" designations.

History of Gaillac

The town was founded in the second century CE by the Gauls who created a river port where they exported their wine into Gallia Narbonensis. When Aquitane was conquered by Rome, Gaillac gained prosperity with its wine. However, the barbarian invasions annihilated the town and left nothing behind. It was only when the monks of Saint-Michel gained viticulture privileges from the Bishop of Albi, in 972, that the population stabilized and Gaillac started to become a town again. Their wines were at first sent to Bordeaux where they would be exported to England. The Abbey of St. Michel was constructed in the 10th century and rebuilt in 1271. In 1524 the abbey was secularized but the title of abbey retained.