The story of a peasant surprise

Once upon a time, there was a monk whose community called him Brother Benedict. He was the cellar master of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Michel de Gaillac and ensured the quality of all the wines leaving the monastery's cellars. He was particularly attentive to the cleanliness of the premises and the winemaking equipment, whether it be the presses, the tuns, the barrels, or the casks. He personally checked the ripeness of the grapes in each plot and the health of the upcoming harvest. He insisted that the harvesters trim the bunches to avoid picking rotten grapes. He separated the grape varieties to vinify each one separately, as far as the containers available in the cellar allowed. His extensive experience served as his guide, as did all the writings of ancient agronomists whose works, saved by copyists, adorned the monastery's great library. He also had the opportunity to exchange and enrich his knowledge with brothers from other Benedictine abbeys who shared the same responsibilities as him.

 

For several years already, at the beginning of the 14th century, winters had been becoming increasingly harsh. The Mauzac grapes were harvested that year on October 1st. They were pressed and then placed in barrels. Fermentation progressed slowly. A severe cold snap struck 10 days later as the red wine harvest was nearing completion. Busy monitoring the fermentation of the red wines, which required heating the harvest to make a starter culture given the cold weather, Brother Benoît neglected his Mauzac barrels for a while. He thought fermentation was complete, so he made sure the barrels were properly filled so they could put the bungs in place. When spring returned after the bitter cold of winter, the temperature had risen considerably. Imagine his surprise to discover that the bung on the only remaining Mauzac barrel had burst several meters, and white foam was flowing down the sides. He poured a little of the wine. Fine bubbles released subtle fruit aromas such as slightly tart and sweet apple.

 

However, he didn't know what to do with this refermenting wine. He decided to try an experiment because the difficulty lay in preserving this effervescence, which would only be temporary. He decided to rack the wine from this barrel and place it in sturdy casks whose bungs would be securely held in place with hemp ropes. But before doing so, he hurried to see the Abbot to explain the situation and give him a taste of his new beverage. The Abbot found the wine delicious, and Brother Benoît's idea was both judicious and opportune to introduce this wine to influential authorities and maintain the best relations with them.

 

Thus, Brother Benoît sent barrels to the Bishop of Albi, to the Cistercian Abbey

of Candeil, to the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Hilaire near Limoux, to the Consuls of Gaillac and

Albi, and to Viguier, the representative of the royal justice system.

He was, however, concerned about the Mauzac that had been shipped to Bordeaux after Saint Martin's Day to be sold to the English after Christmas. He informed the merchant of what had happened to him, asking him to apologize to his customers across the Channel.

 

Shortly after shipping the barrels of his sparkling Mauzac, Brother Benoît received praise from the various recipients, thanking him for the quality of his wine. His counterpart, Brother Léonce of the Abbey of Saint Hilaire, requested a meeting to learn more about this grape variety and how he had achieved such a result. After his visit to Gaillac with Brother Benoît, Brother Léonce returned to his abbey near Limoux, taking with him some Mauzac vine shoots to try to produce such a wine within a few years. Brother Benoît received a response from his English customers, through his wine merchant, informing him that his Mauzac wine indeed tickled on the tongue, but it was to their great delight. He simply asked him to repeat this type of expedition in the coming years, for their greater enjoyment.

 

This happy accident has therefore happened again and again under the same

unique circumstances.

Today, it's no longer a happy accident; this ancestral method is much better

mastered by Gaillac winemakers thanks to technical advances, allowing us, each

year, to share festive moments thanks to these seductive little Gaillac bubbles.