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+--- Thread: Gaillac (/thread-14874.html)
- Thomas - 05-17-2000
Hey Dutton, you seem to have the updated book on grape varieties. What is the variety used in Gaillac wines?
I assume it is something like Chenin Blanc. In fact, I know little about the region and would like to hear more. Had a wonderfully fruity version of it the other day with a chicken in Madeira sauce that I cooked up.
Incidentally, which book are you using? I want to get a copy.
- Innkeeper - 05-17-2000
He goes to www.stratsplace.com . You click on the Wine section (others are Gardens and Arts). Then enter Wine. Scroll down and you will find the most complete wine glossary on the net.
- Thomas - 05-17-2000
Call me old-fashioned, Innkeeper, but I want a book to which I can easily refer whenever I need it. The database on the net would be a bear to download, especially since I work on a Mac OS and not that deplorable thing called Windows for which everyone writes software and downloads.
- Scoop - 05-17-2000
Foodie:
The primary white grape variety in Gaillac is the local Mauzac, which makes an aromatic (apple peel is a common descriptor) and higly acidic wine, at its best in a barrel-matured off-dry/medium sweet style ("Gaillac doux" or "Gaillac Premieres Cote"), although good "sec" version are made, too. It is also used in Limoux sparklers.
Mauzac is often blended with another local variety, Len de l'El. One also finds some well-made Sauv Blanc in Gaillac, and the other classic Bordeaux varieties, Semillion and Muscadelle are present in small quantities, sometimes in blends with the indigenous varieties. Another local, Ondenc, is supposedly coming back into fashion.
My source: The Oxford Wine Companion.
Cheers,
Scoop
- mrdutton - 05-17-2000
Searching the database at www.stratsplace.com is relatively easy. I don't need to download it at all. But when an item seems of interest, I highlight it and save it.
Then when I use it, I make sure that Strat's Place gets credit.
I looked at the Oxford Wine Companion one long afternoon not long ago when I visited the local Barnes & Noble. Most enlightening tome, a neat work! But the $60.00 or $75.00 price tag put me off a-bit.
Rather buy three or four good bottles of wine for $60.00 to $75.00 than read about them............
- mrdutton - 05-17-2000
PS:
Scoop - thanks for answering the question. I was working on it, but got waylayed by other priorities.
Foodie - glad you got your answer!
- Thomas - 05-18-2000
Thanks Scoop. You get a bottle of Gaillac free when you visit my new store in the fall, provided I have some in stock when you get there, but I plan to have it--225 East 5th Street, if we get the license.
I was impressed by a Chateau Clement Termes, 1998 Gaillac ($7.00). Having had no experience with the grape varieties (and I cannot understand why that is) I tasted great similarities to Chenin Blanc. But talk about food-friendly!
I got me a book advance coming in the mail, so I can afford an Oxford Companion--what's the latest edition?
- Scoop - 05-18-2000
Now that's incentive, Foodie!
Need any more questions answered?!
Look for the Second Edition of the Oxford Companion to Wine, 1999, edited by Jancis Robinson. While it is dear, it is a tremendous, comprehensive reference (that is also nice to look at). I use it constantly.
Cheers,
Scoop
- mrdutton - 05-18-2000
Well I'm saving my pennies......... a penny a day doth buy the Oxford someday.
- Thomas - 05-19-2000
You can do it in less than ten years, Dutton, but when you are ready, better check for the latest edition...
Spoke with a Frenchman last night. The Gaillac is produced on the north side of the Pyrennes Mountains, along the border between Spain and France, in the frontline region where the Franks kept the Moors from entering Gaul. I shall definitely get some Gaillac to sell at my shop, if only for the history of the place.
Incidentally, Scoop, we call the shop Is-Wine (Everyday is-wine day) and when we get the Web site up it will be, Is-Wine.com. Why not come and apply for a job? We want both part and full-time, I will train in retail sales. I'll be in NYC the first weekend in June. Come visit us.
- Scoop - 05-19-2000
Well, Foodie, if I'm in town that weekend I'll certainly swing by.
Just from this string, it sounds like you're opening my kind of shop!
Cheers,
Scoop
- mrdutton - 05-19-2000
When do you open?
I'll be in NYC on 15 June and then again on 23 June.......... It would be fun to visit.
I think............
- mrdutton - 05-19-2000
Gaillac is one of the most diverse appellations of South-West France, and one of the oldest vineyards: the Romans planted vines there in the 1st century AD. Gaillac gained an AOC for the white wines in 1938 and for the reds (roses included) in 1970. Red now accounts for around 60% of the production.
Gaillac includes an eclectic range of grape varieties, which is reflected in a corresponding number of different wine styles.
Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc are mixed with grapes rarely found anywhere else. Mauzac, the oldest variety, is used in the whole range of white wines, depending on when it is picked. Mauzac can be blended with Loin de l'Oeil (Len de l'El in the local dialect) which, if not overripe, adds finesse and style.
The most important red variety is Duras, followed by Fer Servadou (known locally as Braucol), Syrah, Negrette, and Gamay, which must between them account for a minimum of 60% of the blend. The balance may come from Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
White Gaillac can be dry, sweet (doux) or 'moelleux' (rich and soft, with an impression of sweetness); still, sparkling or very slighly sparkling (perle).
Gaillac moelleux comes from grapes that are late harvested. Gaillic doux must contain 70 grams per litre of residual sugar, while Gaillac moelleux depends upon the individual growers' taste.
Two styles of red Gaillac emerge as the most typical, both based on the loacl Duras grape. In the first, Duras is blended with Fer Servadou for structure and Syrah for color. The second red shows affinities with Bordeaux, blending Duras with Merlot and Cabernet. Red Gaillac benefits from moderate ageing, but is generally ready young.
In Gaillac, cooperatives dominate production. The leading cooperative is the Cave de Labastide de Levis. The cooperative at Tecou also works well for its appellation. A third co-op is Rabastens.
Individual producers includ Ch Clement-Termes, Domaine de Labarthe, Ch Larroze, Ch de Lastours, Domaine des Tres Cantous and Mas Pignou. Chateau de Lastours is among the leading Gaillac producers.
Source: Not the internet.
Larousse Encyclopedia of Wine.....
Gaillac is located about thirty miles north-east of Toulouse and is about 100 miles due north of the border with Spain.
Please check out this web-site: http://www.vins-gaillac.com/A_frm01.html
It is the official web-site for 'Commission Interprofessionnelle des Vins de Gaillac' and I found it very interesting.
[This message has been edited by mrdutton (edited 05-20-2000).]
- Thomas - 05-20-2000
Dutton, thanks for the Gaillac--Internet or book, I know it comes from the heart, and I promise to stop kidding you about the matter.
The shop does not open until the fall--gotta wait for NYState to issue a license, which takes anywhere from months to eons, based on a mix of myriad forms, questionaires, measurements, fingerprints, public debate, private idiosyncracies and which bureaucrat's wife gave him a bad day the week your file hits the antiquated office and administrative system.
If I were applying for a gun permit I would have been in business long ago. But wine is a much more dangerous product!
- mrdutton - 05-20-2000
Well I can be patient when I have to be.....
NYC is not so far from Virginia Beach that we couldn't manage a trip in the fall.
Besides by then I might have enough saved up to not only pay for the Oxford but also pay for the gas. Guess I'll only be able to window shop when I get to Manhattan...... [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]
- Thomas - 05-21-2000
Pick the right window and you will drive home happy, or maybe not even return to Va!