2024 Domaine Philemon Gaillac Jurancon Noir

Domaine Philémon is located in Villeneuve-sur-Vere, a small village on the Vere river in between Albi and Cordes in the northeast quadrant of the Gaillac appellation. The Vieules family have had a vineyard in Villeneuve since 1804. Today the vineyard is run by Mathieu Vieules who grows wheat, sunflowers and grapes in equal proportions. All his land is farmed organically with the vineyard being certified in 2013. The domain takes its name from Mathieu’s great-grandfather, Philemon, who in 1914 was the first generation to produce wine commercially. In 2003 Mathieu became the first to estate bottle his family’s wines. Along with his other crops, Mathieu has twenty hectares of vineyards in production along the Cordes plateau on south facing slopes with a calcerous soil. Jurançon Noir is an old natural cross of malbec and folle blanche local to the southwest of France and valued for its vigor and color. For this unusual mono-varietal version, the grapes are hand harvested and put into the cement fermentation tank in whole clusters for a semi-carbonic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. As Mathieu explains, in order to produce quality wine this variety must be severely pruned and handled gently in the winery. Its deep, dark hue belies this wine's freshness, and while it has a bit of tannin, it still wants to be drunk close to cellar temperature. Try it with roasted poultry, lamb chops, or a bean stew.