Distillerie et Domaine Cazottes is located in the town of Villeneuve-sur-Vère, in the Rive Gauche subzone of Gaillac. Managed by Laurent Cazottes, the winery produces organically made eau-de-vie and wines. The story of the domaine starts with Laurent’s father, Jean Cazottes. Jean was a travelling distiller who would move from village to village, set up his equipment in the town square, and produce spirits from the local fruits. He would sell the eau-de-vies back to the townspeople. It was Laurent who decided to set up shop in a single location. His first spirits were made from Williams pears harvested around Villeneuve-sur-Vère. His production grew to include 6 different brands of eau de vie, 6 different liquors and two wine-based aperitifs. In 2010 Laurent made the decision to start making wine from Gaillac’s indegenous grape varieties, which are not often found outside the area. He farms his fruits and vegetables according to organic and biodynamic principles, and ferments the wines naturally with ambient yeasts and no temperature control. Tarn’s premier red variety is a brambley, surly grape called Braucol, which operates under the alias of Fer Servadou in other appellations. In this case, Braucol’s gruffness is partnered with Syrah for aromatics, acidity and greater character. The grapes are destemmed and fermented on the skins in steel tanks for one week of maceration before pressing back to steel for aging through the winter.
