Cahuzac-sur-Vère · 7 km
Domaine Plageoles
Seven generations of winegrowers, from the family cradle at Cahuzac-sur-Vère to the slopes of Castelnau-de-Montmiral. The Plageoles are the keepers of the Gaillacois' ancestral grapes.
The Plageoles family has grown vines at Cahuzac-sur-Vère since 1805. Seven generations on — from Jules to Florent and Romain, who run the estate today — the house stays faithful to a single obsession: preserving the grapes that time nearly carried off. Nowhere else in the Gaillacois has this work of memory been pushed so far.
It was Robert Plageoles who, from the 1980s, set out to track down and replant Prunelart, Verdanel and Ondenc — varieties everyone thought lost. His son Bernard carried the work through to the 2015 vintage before handing over. The estate is farmed organically, and each grape is vinified on its own, with no blend to blunt its character.
The estate covers around twenty hectares split between two properties: Domaine des Très Cantous, the family cradle at Cahuzac-sur-Vère, and Domaine de Roucou-Cantemerle, on the slopes of Castelnau-de-Montmiral. Two terroirs, two exposures, for one family of wines.
Vin d’Autan remains the most extraordinary cuvée: Ondenc grapes dried on the vine by the Autan wind, picked berry by berry in November, yield a golden nectar of rare concentration. You won’t find anything more Gaillac than this.
Just nearby, the Cahuzac vineyard trail runs past the estate: eight kilometres on foot through the slopes, to arrive here by other means than the car.
The two estates
The domain is split between two cellars, a few kilometres apart.
- 1 Domaine des Très Cantous — Cahuzac-sur-Vère — the family cradle, the cellar and the tasting room.
- 2 Domaine de Roucou-Cantemerle — Castelnau-de-Montmiral — the second property, on different slopes.
Estate wines
4 wines, one signature
Iconic ancestral-method sparkling, fermented in the bottle.
Oxidative ageing under a veil of yeast, walnut notes.
Late harvest dried by the Autan wind, a rare sweet wine.
A resurrected grape — a sturdy red with black-fruit aromas.
Good to know
- What is Vin d'Autan?
- The signature cuvée: Ondenc grapes dried on the vine by the Autan wind, picked berry by berry in November. A golden sweet wine, rare, of remarkable concentration.
- Why 'ancestral grapes'?
- Because the Plageoles tracked down and replanted varieties thought to be lost — Prunelart, Verdanel, Ondenc. A work of memory begun by Robert in the 1980s.
- Does the estate really have two cellars?
- Yes: Domaine des Très Cantous at Cahuzac-sur-Vère, the family cradle, and Domaine de Roucou-Cantemerle at Castelnau-de-Montmiral. Around twenty hectares in all.
- Can you visit and taste?
- Yes, Monday to Saturday, 9am–noon and 2–6pm, at Très Cantous.
Visit the estate
Come taste on site
Monday to Saturday, 9am–noon and 2–6pm.
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