Mas de Daumas Gassac is a

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

producer from the wine region

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, classified as

Vin de Pays ''Vin de pays'' (, "country wine") was a French wine classification that was above the '' vin de table'' classification, but below the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (AOC) classification and below the former ''vin délimité de qualité s ...

de l'

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...

outside specifications of its

AOC Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of ...

. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feature warehouses, ...

, producing both

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

and red wine, is located in the south of France, in the commune of

Aniane Aniane (; oc, Aniana) is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Population See also * Benedict of Aniane * Pont du Diable, Hérault * Mas de Daumas Gassac *Communes of the Hérault department Th ...

. Despite its modest designation and location, the vineyard has received widespread acknowledgement, described by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' to taste like a " Latour" and by the French gastronomic guide ''

GaultMillau Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 poin ...

'' as the " Lafite Rothschild of the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and b ...

", it is frequently referred to as the ''Grand cru of the Languedoc''.

History

On land sold by the Daumas family to a former glove manufacturer Aimé Guibert, wines were first planted at this vineyard in 1974. Following the recommendation of Henri Enjalbert, a professor of geography at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a Lists of universities in France, public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southern France, southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bor ...

, whose assessment of the

terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these contex ...

determined the

microclimate A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...

to be uncharacteristically favourable for cultivation of wine in such a warm region, the first vintage was produced in 1978 with the assistance of the

oenologist Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

Émile Peynaud Émile Peynaud (June 29, 1912 – July 18, 2004) was a French oenologist and researcher who has been credited with revolutionizing winemaking in the latter half of the 20th century, and has been called "the forefather of modern oenology". Biogr ...

. Mas de Daumas Gassac came to be seen as the first to prove that a French non-appellation wine (as simply labelled ''Vin de Pays de l'Hérault'') may be an extremely serious, long-living red wine able to fetch prices similar to a Bordeaux classed growth.winepros.com.au. Aimé Guibert has since featured in the documentary film ''

Mondovino ''Mondovino'' ( it, World of Wine) is a 2004 documentary film on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions written and directed by American film maker Jonathan Nossiter. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2004 Cannes ...

'', stating that "wine is dead".

Moulin de Gassac

The estate also fronts a neighbouring cooperative label producing a wide range of products such as various blended and

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

wines, as well as spirits, balsamic vinegar, and an oil that is the blend of extra virgin olive oil and grape seed oil.

Production

Over 50 hectares are cultivated in smaller plots dispersed throughout the estate, consisting predominantly of Cabernet Sauvignon, while other grape varieties include Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Pinot noir,

Tannat Tannat is a red wine grape, historically grown in South West France in the Madiran AOC, and is now one of the most prominent grapes in Uruguay, where it is considered the "national grape". Tannat is also grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazi ...

, as well as

Nebbiolo Nebbiolo (, ; pms, nebieul ) is an Italian red wine grape variety predominantly associated with its native Piedmont region, where it makes the '' Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita'' (DOCG) wines of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero ...

Barbera Barbera is a red Italian wine grape variety that, as of 2000, was the third most-planted red grape variety in Italy (after Sangiovese and Montepulciano). It produces good yields and is known for deep color, full body, low tannins and high level ...

and

Dolcetto Dolcetto ( , , ) is a black Italian wine grape variety widely grown in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The Italian word ''dolcetto'' means "little sweet one", but it is not certain that the name originally carried any reference to t ...

. The white varieties are mostly Chardonnay, Viognier and

Petit Manseng Petit Manseng (sometimes translated: Small Manseng, rarely "Little Manseng") is a white wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France. It produces the highest quality wine of any grape in the Manseng family. The name is deriv ...

, but also

Marsanne Marsanne is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known as ' ...

, Roussane, Chenin blanc, Sercial, and

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

. The red ''Grand vin'' Mas de Daumas Gassac has an annual production of 120,000 to 150,000 bottles. In addition the estate produces a dry white Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc, 45,000 to 60,000 bottles annually, a Mas de Daumas Gassac Rosé Frizant -a sparkling rosé, 8,000 to 12,000 bottles annually, and a ''cuvée exception'' named Émile Peynaud with a production of 2,000 bottles.

References

External links

Mas de Daumas Gassac official site

Crimson Aroma Newsletter {{coord, 43.662, 3.591, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Wineries of France Hérault