Domaine Plageoles Terroirists Orange

Regular price $46.00

Winemaker: Robert Plageoles

Appellation: Gaillac, France

Varieties: Muscadelle (80%); Mauzac, Ondenc, Verdanel, Loin de L’œil & Sauvignon (20%)

The Terroirists wines come from the Plageoles family’s own impressive bush vines; unlike their other wines that are single-varietal, this range is based on blends (or field-blends) of multiple indigenous varieties.

Making of: the grapes are hand-harvested. The Muscadelle is whole-bunch macerated for 11 days, pressed and then aged in demi-muids for 9 months, the remaining varieties are direct-pressed and aged in tanks. Both spontaneous and ML fermentation happen spontaneously. The two parts are blended at the end of elevage. Bottled unfined, unfiltered, with a tiny bit of sulfur (20ppm total).

Personality: charming orange with notes of dried fruit, candied orange peel and exotic spice like curry or turmeric – super cool food-pairing material! Our fave combo is with some not-too-strong cheeses, Indian / Moroccan cuisine or poultry, but don’t hesitate to have fun finding your own matches. Or to drink it on its own .)

The wines of Gaillac as a whole are on the map today as wines of quality due to the hard work and adventurous spirit of the Plageoles family. It all started with Robert Plageoles, who took great pride in bringing back the lost indigenous varieties of the area. He researched and replanted over a dozen varieties (7 in the Mauzac family alone) indigenous to Gaillac that had all but vanished. Robert did painstaking work, often going in to the forest to find wild vines growing, and going to seed banks to resurrect these grapes. Robert’s son Bernard continued this work, and now his sons Florent and Romain have taken up the cause of natural wines in Gaillac. 

The terroir in Gaillac is made up of clay, limestone, sand and silex soils. Gaillac receives more sunshine than Bordeaux and is graced by a cool maritime climate.  Between the historic family vineyard of Très Cantous and the Roucou-Cantemerle vineyard totaling 20-hectares, they farm Mauzac Vert, Mauzac Noir, Ondenc, Duras, Musscadelle, and Prunelart. To drink the wines from Plageoles is to experience the fruit and terroir of living history.

The Plageoles are one of the oldest winemaking families in the AOC, and they are thoroughly invested in retaining the traditions and quality for the AOC that had been often overlooked, that however, have now been receiving well-deserved praise.

-Jenny & François Selections