Domaine Gayrard Gaillac Rouge Braucol 2022

This cuvee is produced from a parcel of old vines from the local Gaillac variety of Braucol, a dark-skinned local indigenous variety that is sometimes known as Fer Servadou. DNA testing suggests it originates from the Carmenere family. The windswept hillside plot benefits from the warmth of the Mediterranean climate, tempered by oceanic breezes, which impart balancing acidity to the fruit and keep the vineyard healthy by aerating the vines. The vineyard sits upon cool and draining clay-limestone soils, which produce fruity red wines with roundness and finesse. The vineyard is in conversion to organic status; no herbicides or insecticides are used and the vines are manually tended with leaf removal and green harvesting taking place by hand. Constantly striving to improve the natural balance between soil, flora and fauna, practices that respect the environment are employed, with cover crops in the vineyard, natural fertilisers to nourish the soils and silica treatments to help strengthen the vigour of the vines. The fruit is hand-harvested.