Type

Red Wine

Appellation

Touraine

Variety

50% Gamay
50% Côt

Tardieux-Gal's cuvée 'Tradition' is a blend of their own Gamay and Côt. When making the blend, their goal is to create a rich and fruity wine that's ready to share after a short amount of time in bottle. The exact blend changes each year. At Domaine Tardieux-Gal, all of the vines have been certified organic since 1998. 80% of the vineyards are harvested by hand. Vinification is done with native yeasts, no chaptalization, and minimal sulfites are added.

Viticulture

Vineyard name

Gamay : Solemot et Les 3 Chênes / Côt : Les Parcs et Les Automes

Soil type

70% clay-limestone, 30% white clay-slate

Vine ageVines planted in 1980s (Les 3 Chênes), Solemot 2017, Les Parcs 2013, Automes 1983

Vineyard size1 ha Gamay / 1.25 ha Côt

PruningShort

ExpositionNortheast (Parcs), Southeast (Automes), and East (3 Chenes)

Altitude120 m

Vinification

Short maceration (6-15 days) with whole clusters for Gamay and destemmed grapes for Côt, followed by malolactic fermentation

Elevage6 months in fiberglass tanks

Harvest typeHand Harvested

Fining/FilteringUnfined / Tangential filtration

Additional info

Total production average8,000 bottles

More about
the producer

Domaine Tardieux

Founded in 1977 (Simon joined in 2009)

16 hectares

As a teenager, Simon Tardieux began working in the vines at a famous organic domaine called Clos Roche Blanche. After university and a short stint as a social worker, he decided to return to Thésée and get back to viticulture – the only problem was that he didn’t have any vineyards. In 2009, Simon teamed up with his neighbor Alain Courtault, who had been farming organically since 1998, but was still selling most of his harvest off to the local coop. Together, they created a range of simple, eminently drinkable wines that showcase the best of French farming, and a decade later, they are bottling all of their grapes.

Following Alain's retirement in 2020, Simon took over the domaine gradually, mentored along the way by Alain. The work in the vineyards goes far beyond follow...