Gaillac: Domaine Barreau Les Braisiers

First cultivated by the Romans, the South West is one of France's largest wine-producing regions, encompassing a vast and varied area to the west of (but not including) Bordeaux. Its local rivers, such as the Garonne and Dordogne, once played an important role in transporting the wines to market, though having to pass through Bordeaux and its protective trade laws left the region long overshadowed by its famous neighbour. Today, the South West is celebrated for its sweet, dry, and sparkling whites and its robust reds, made from an exceptional diversity of local grape varieties rarely found elsewhere. Its varying climates and elevations produce some genuinely distinctive and characterful wines.

One of France's oldest wine regions, sits along the Tarn river in South-West France, where the Romans first planted vines over 2,000 years ago. Remarkably diverse, it produces red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines, drawing on a rich array of local grapes rarely found elsewhere. The reds are built chiefly on Fer Servadou (Braucol), Duras, and Syrah, giving big, bold wines, while the whites come from indigenous varieties such as Mauzac, Len de l'El, and Muscadelle - the latter also behind the region's distinctive Méthode Ancestrale sparkling wines, made entirely from Mauzac. Steeped in tradition, Gaillac offers a genuine wine adventure of ancient and characterful styles.