Appellation
Gaillac
Identity card
RegionalAOPRedWhiteRoséSparkling
South West France · Recognised on 21 March 1938
Key points
- Reds and rosés: at most 55 hl/ha and at least 11% natural alcohol.
- Whites recognised in 1938, reds and rosés in 1970.
- Len de l'El, native to Gaillac, is not recorded in any other vineyard.
Grape varieties
WhiteSparkling
Accessory varieties: Ondenc, Sauvignon Blanc
Len de l'El, Mauzac, Muscadelle · at least 50% of the holding's vines
Len de l'El, Mauzac, Muscadelle · at least 70% of the blend
Muscadelle · 70% at most of the blend
White and pink Mauzac; méthode ancestrale: the two Mauzacs only
Muscadelle is always blended with another principal variety
RedRosé
DurasFer ServadouPrunelardSyrah
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Merlot
Duras, Fer Servadou, Prunelard, Syrah · at least 70% of the holding's vines
Duras, Fer Servadou, Prunelard · at least 40% of the holding's vines
Duras, Fer Servadou, Prunelard, Syrah · at least 70% of the blend
Syrah · 70% at most of the blend
At least two of the four principal varieties among the vines
Red primeur: Gamay and Duras only
Production rules
55
hl/ha
Maximum yield
11
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Reds: at least until 1 February of the year after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 79 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 136 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Soils: Tertiary molasse and limestone of the old Albigeois gulf
- Lie of the land: Tarn terraces, right-bank slopes, the Cordes plateau
- Climate: Oceanic and Mediterranean; the warm, dry Autan wind
Wine style
- White
- dry: fruity, floral
- moderate acidity
- sweet: ripe apple, pear
- Red
- red fruit
- spicy notes
- noticeable tannins
- able to age
- Sparkling
- ancestrale: fine bubbles
- ancestrale: apple notes
- bottle-fermented: fresh
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
5 September 2025
Arrêté du 5 septembre 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « Gaillac » (JORF n°0208 du 7 septembre 2025, texte n°66, NOR AGRT2524140A ; publié au Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculture le 11 septembre 2025), abrogeant l'arrêté du 6 décembre 2019. Appellation initialement reconnue par les décrets du 21 mars 1938 (vins blancs) et du 23 octobre 1970 (vins rouges et rosés).
Labelling terms
- "Méthode ancestrale": sparkling Mauzac from a single fermentation
- "Primeur": whites, and reds from Gamay and Duras
- "Doux": compulsory for sweet whites and sweet ancestrale wines
- "Vendanges tardives": whites; Len de l'El and Ondenc as principals
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine protégée « Gaillac »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Reference bookWine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours— Allen Lane / Ecco (HarperCollins)
On both banks of the Tarn, some fifty kilometres north-east of Toulouse, an appellation with many styles: reds, rosés, dry or sweet still whites, sparkling wines made by the "méthode ancestrale" or by second fermentation in bottle, and a "vendanges tardives" style. Its principal grapes include old South West varieties — Duras, Fer and Prunelard for the reds, Len de l'El and Mauzac for the whites and sparkling wines.
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Gaillac
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