The hillsides of Lisle

From the brick-red heart of the old bastide, the path leads up to the wooded hillsides. Along the way, the carefully tended landscapes of the Gaillacois vineyards reveal a fine palette of light and colour.

The bastide queen:
At the heart of the city, the square is the crossroads of all meetings. The streets that converge on it are often also decorated with arcades, covered passages under the houses in which shops open and markets are held. The square is at the centre of a geometric spindle-shaped, checkerboard or concentric building. The whole is still often protected by a wall. This is the bastide... In Albigensia, the bastide is king. Of a fascinating and abundant past. It still vibrates, perhaps for ever, to the Cathar, English and Huguenot rhythms. Its walls are polished, its brick has a patina and its wood is cracked. You look for it in Cahuzac-sur-Vère. But you enter it through the Hirissou gate in Puycelci, the Horloge gate in Cordes-sur-Ciel
in Cordes-sur-Ciel, the Garrics in Castelnau-de-Montmiral, the Porte Neuve in Bruniquel. One calms down at the Larroque fountain. You weigh your grain at the Place des Mesures in Penne. And you can dance in Lisle-sur-Tarn, in one of the largest bastide squares in the South-West.


White grape varieties not found elsewhere:
The Gaillac winegrower has always taken care to select the grape varieties best suited to the terrain and exposure. Typical, specific and high in character, two Gaillac grape varieties, Mauzac and Len de l'el (Loin de l'oeil), stand out for their rarity. Mauzac excels in the construction of white wines. Its aromas are reminiscent of apples and pears for soft wines with low acidity. There are some real "marvels" in pure Mauzac. With a particular aptitude for making sparkling wines, this grape variety lives only in Gaillac and Limoux. Len de l'el ? Its bunch has a very long stalk which keeps the grape "away from the eye" (in viticulture, the eye is the bud). Its origin is remote. It exists only in Gaillac and produces a wine with a very fine floral or citrus aroma. Combined with Mauzac, it is fresh and supple.