AOC GAILLAC – traditionnal method

Vintage 2019:

This 2019 vintage was quite a good year for most of the Gaillac winemakers, thanks to the frost being late and no hailstorm. Spring rains helped our vineyards to resist heavy summer heats and droughts, allowing it to mature, and without bothering the harvest.

This year’s sparkling wines are elegant and fresh, and present a small and delicate fuzzy structure.

Winemaking :

The grapes are gathered into open casks which lets us keep the fruit intact until its placement in the winepress; to avoid any early stage oxidation. A cycle of slow pneumatic pressure enables us to obtain the “coeur de presse” or in other words, the best quality juices. We then proceed to a racking procedure at a low temperature to eliminate any coarse particles that could hide any subtle aroma. We then arrive at the crucial step of the alcoholic fermentation. Yeast is about to work for about two weeks, at temperatures between 12 and 16 degrees. Maintaining these temperatures allows it to work very slowly, to its maximum effectiveness and this is meant to bring out the most flavours we can: an alchemy is taking place, and the wine’s base is created. This ultimate product is placed in bottles with the addition of a ‘drawing liqueur’ which causes a second fermentation and the sparkling wine outcome. This wine must be left to develop in contact with its lees for a minimum period of nine months, allowing it to acquire remarkably interesting flavours from this kind of fermentation. Once this vinification is complete, the bottles will then be ‘disgorged’, which means that their lees are extracted by hand. The volume thus removed is replaced by a very lightly sugared ‘expedition liqueur’, which enables the cork to be expelled during the opening of the bottle.

Tasting notes :

Appearance:pale yellow with silver reflection

Aroma:The dominance is floral while the second impression carries us to the toasted notes from our childhood.

Taste:Lively with a fine bubble which exacerbates the notes of white flowers and croissants.

Food pairing:in aperitif for a festive occasion or with a lemon meringue tart.

Can be kept up to 5 years.