CHATEAU DE GAUDOU

Information

Description

Durou family
The Durou family: a long line of winegrowers
The story begins with passion, in 1733, where Fabrice Durou's ancestors settled. There have been no fewer than 7 generations of winegrowers.
Gaudou’s philosophy
In a spirit of respect for nature (organic, sustainable agriculture, etc.), I strive to link my wines to the ancestral and contemporary identity of Cahors wines (localities names, old vines, etc.). It is very important for me to share the fruits of my labour and my passion for the craft of winemaking...
The vineyard …
The Malbec grape variety has been selected from the oldest vines in the Cahors AOC that survived the Phylloxera pest.
Our work :
- Promoting our localities through our wines- Safeguarding our old vines
- Cordon de Royat pruning
- Pigeage
- Use of indigenous yeasts
- Ageing in barrels, tuns and ceramics
These are major advantages in the face of climate change, and ensure that the identity of our wines is rooted in the long history of the Cahors vineyards.
Respect for nature...
I also wanted to put the environment at the heart of Gaudou. This sensitivity to the environment has been fuelled by a number of events in my life. From the birth of my daughter, to a trip to Thailand/Cambodia and the diagnosis of a professional illness.
What can we do, at our own level, to try and preserve the environment for future generations?
This series of reflections led to a shift towards a form of cultivation that is more respectful of the environment and human beings, starting with integrated sustainable winegrowing in early 2000, followed by HVE and then organic farming.
Why not one day go biodynamic? We are thinking about it...





A closer look at how far we've come...
Taking over ...
I took over my ancestors' vineyards in early 2000, after working for a while in Australia, in St Emilion and in an experimental wine center.
Promoting our localities...
Right from the start, I chose to continue the plot selection work that my father and grandfather began in 1988, by promoting our ancestral vineyard sites. Some of these localities have been recognised since the Middle Ages and they allow us to follow in the footsteps of the generations of Cahors winegrowers who have worked these vines.
Our old vines...
In the early years, I had to fight to keep our old, high vines planted by my forefathers, which no longer corresponded to the standards of the contemporary AOC, within the appellation.
Our Royat cordon pruning...
My grandfather taught me to use the Royat cordon pruning method on our old vines planted by his father. I pointed out that this method of pruning had not been recorded when the appellation was created. Even though it had been practised in the vineyard for several generations.
Pigeage...
Pigeage is the method of extraction used by my ancestors, and at the same time a gentle method for extracting the texture of our Malbec. I built two new cellars in 2013 and 2019 to enable us to use this traditional technique for all our wines.
Use of indigenous yeasts...
We have not used selected yeasts for a very long time, particularly for our red wines. We do, however, sometimes use them when a tank stops fermenting. This has been very rare since we started using natural yeasts.
Ageing...
Ageing at Gaudou has evolved with the times. In the past, barrels were used twice. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the wine was matured in new barrels and two or three wines.
Apart from these barrel-ageing methods, the barrel has always been the basis for ageing Gaudou wines throughout the ages. The historic plan of the winery dating back to 1733 already shows its use.
Each generation has invested in new tuns, enabling me to mature all our woody wines in this container.
During my time in Australia, I learnt to use new-generation containers for maturing wine. As soon as I got back, I started experimenting with small-volume microporous containers other than barrels.
In 2012, the cuvée Le sang de la Vigne (now cuvée Le sang de ma terre) was the first wine to be matured in non-wooded microporous ovoid vats.
From 2018, we continued with the ageing of our lieux-dits in 400-litre ceramic vats.
This has enabled us to obtain a more distinctive expression of the lieu-dit with a single grape variety, Malbec.
Environmental philosophy...
All my thoughts on the environment have been fuelled by several moments in my life.
- The birth of my daughter in 2014 raised questions about the vineyard, the wines and what I was going to pass on to her.
- My honeymoon in Thailand/Cambodia, where I saw some of the world's most beautiful rivers and beaches populated by plastic.
- The diagnosis of an work-related illness resulting from my exposure to plant protection products since childhood.
Do plant protection product companies tell us everything?
I was not sure of the answer, and I noticed that products were regularly withdrawn from the market because they were too dangerous. I wanted to carry out my own investigation... I discovered on the website www.sagepesticides.qc.ca the consequences of these molecules on living beings. I decided to eliminate all the molecules that could potentially have a harmful impact. So, step by step, I set about using only organic contact products from 2017 onwards.
This succession of factors has led to a shift towards cultivation that is more respectful of the environment and human beings, starting with integrated sustainable winegrowing in early 2000, followed by HVE and then organic farming. Why not one day go biodynamic? We are thinking about it...
In 1992 there was a very violent storm, which created large furrows in the vines. My father decided to grass over a large part of the vineyard.
This change revealed the qualitative potential of a locality (Chemin d'Orgueil). In 1993, he created the cuvée Renaissance. This wine reminded him of the concentrated Cahors of his childhood. The wine that his ancestors used to sell and that made the Cadurcien vineyards famous.
During my school career, I was lucky enough to do a BEP (vocational training certificate) in agriculture, which enabled me to acquire knowledge of the different techniques involved in working the soil and maintaining meadows, etc. This knowledge was not put to good use in the wine-growing sector that I subsequently followed.
One of the first points of my father's practices that posed a philosophical problem for me it was weed control.
As soon as I returned to the property, I wanted to relearn the soil-working practices used by my family before herbicides. (Ridging, decavation, weeding, etc.).
I soon realised that if I wanted to generalise this work across the whole vineyard, it would represent a significant cost in terms of time, wear and tear on the equipment and, above all, a major loss of vines.
I then looked for more contemporary techniques and tools. (Kress wheels, hydraulic blades).
Other difficulties arose: the terroir is made up of rolled pebbles, which make up the majority of our vineyard and are very difficult to work. The pebbles cause a lot of wear and tear on the equipment and are uncomfortable for the tractor driver because of the bouncing caused by the pebbles.
As I had no solution, I decided to let the vines grow grass naturally in their entirety. I decided to monitor their behaviour because this method encourages the roots to descend into the soil.
For five years, the vines have suffered from climate change, with excess water and heat. To my great surprise, I discovered that my vines did not suffer from water stress, even though they were covered in grass, and that the harvests were in line with expectations for the vintage.
The only inconvenience of this technique is that, like tillage, it accelerates the mortality of the weakest vines.
Today, I have found a machine that allows me to weed under the rows of vines using water at 1000 bar pressure and rotating ceramic nozzles.
This provides natural weed control without turning over the soil and uses very little water.
We are still at the experimental level, but it looks promising.
Malbec white...
After tasting a Merlot produced as a white wine in Northern Italy, I thought, why not a white Malbec?
In anticipation of the harvest, which seemed interminable in 2010, I picked a few grapes and pressed them. My surprise was as good as the white juice that came out of the small press! The challenge was on!
Every year, we have worked to develop the know-how needed to achieve the AOC's quality objective.
Today we produce over 100 hl of dry and sparkling Malbec White.
The adventure continues, why not a white Cahors!
Packaging....
In keeping with the same philosophy, we have been using :
- Brown cardboard, some of which is recycled, with no chemically bleached sheets.
- For our IGP and AOC core range wines, the lightest possible bottles, with at least 70% of the glass from recycled sources.
- We work with local printers.
- We hire pallets to avoid the need for new production.
- We try to recycle as much as possible or to sort our waste properly. We try to do without products derived from petroleum as much as possible.
- We use natural corks from Portugal, made from natural cork oaks harvested using traditional methods combined with cutting-edge technology to prevent leakage or cork drip.
And why not go biodynamic?
We are thinking about it as we go along...
We have drastically reduced the use of SO2 in our long maturing process, and use very little in our young wines. We use essential oils to reduce our use of copper. We draw inspiration from the lunar calendar to make certain decisions throughout the year. A practice that has always been used in my family - good farming sense! Protecting the biodiversity of our terroirs, saving on tillage and preserving the living biotope around our plots, which are often made up of coppice and woodland. But we still have a long way to go...
Durou family
The Durou family: a long line of winegrowers
The story begins with passion, in 1733, where Fabrice Durou's ancestors settled. There have been no fewer than 7 generations of winegrowers. All have brought their share of innovation and modernisation, but it was in 1966 that the history of Gaudou was turned upside down. Château de Gaudou created its very first label. This marked the beginning of the sale of bottled wine, which until then had been sold in barrels!
For more than seven generations, Château de Gaudou has been associated with a winemaking tradition that has never wavered. It was in the 18th century that Louis Durou settled at Gaudou through marriage to Marie-Louisa Buge, a landowning family.
However, it is difficult to know how far back this long line of Durou families goes. In fact, as early as 1500, the parish registers mention a Marguerite Durou. History tells us that they lived in the Lot valley, cultivating the land from time immemorial. Very early on, the Durou family in Gaudou became involved in the wine trade. The account books of the time show that they traded all over France, with a particular emphasis on Paris. A keen traveller, Jean-Charles-Edouard Durou forged trade links that served the cause of our wine. His wife, Julia Garrigou, had a keen sense of interpersonal skills and made a significant contribution to the estate's reputation.
His only son, Louis-Jean Durou, had to cut short his brilliant studies to take the place of his father, who had died prematurely. He quickly mastered the alchemical elements of wine to enrich the daily practices of local viticulture. His know-how, recognised by all, was to play a decisive role in the development of agricultural mechanisation in Gaudou. The two wars that marked the first part of the 20th century made life difficult on the estate. But the trials of history did not discourage him. He decided to use our precious barrels, until then used mainly for the wine trade, to mature our Cahors. 1966 marked the consecration of Château de Gaudou: our Cahors was now bottled!
René-Jean-Jacques Durou is building, modernising and affirming the character of a great wine.
Today, he is the lord of his domain. His day-to-day efforts have been rewarded by the use of methods designed to improve the care of his vines (grassing, leaf thinning, green harvesting, sorting table, etc.). Brigitte, his wife, is constantly working to develop the business.
The beginning of the 2000s was marked by the last descendant of the Durou family: Fabrice. A worthy heir to this line of winegrowers, he embodies the revival of the appellation. By remaining faithful to the know-how of his forebears, he is today the guarantor of a tradition mixed with modernism. His obsession lies in the excellence of the wines he makes with passion and love. His quest for quality, crowned by a series of medals in the most prestigious international competitions, proves that Château de Gaudou is one of the finest Cahors wines in the appellation.
The estate in brief
Organic process :
2010 certified sustainable viticulture
2019 premium certified organic
2023 all vineyards certified organic
Generations of winegrowers: 7 th
Age of first winery: 1733
Age of vines: average 50 years (from 10 to 120 years!)
Number of hectares: 45ha
Exposure: south/south-west
Terroir: mostly 3rd terrace of the Lot valley
Soil type: gravel, limestone (Kimmeridgian), clay
Grape varieties: 80% Malbec, 15% Merlot, 5% Tannat
Planting density: 4,200 to 5,500 vines/ha
Sustainable viticulture :
Cordon de Royat pruning
 95% of plots are grassed
 We take great care of our old vines, which make up the vast majority of our vineyard.
Traditional vinification, adapted to the vintage:
 Maceration from 1 to 6 weeks
 Warm maceration
 2013 construction of a concrete cellar with traps for punching down the cap
 2019 construction of a horizontal stainless-steel tank for punching down
Packaging:
 Use of lighter bottles and raw but quality cardboard to limit transport weight.
 Recycling of dry materials and certain liquids.

Historical recognition :
Exposition Agricole de Limoges, 1921: Silver Medal
C.G.A. Paris 1914: Gold Medal, 1913 harvest
 C.G.A. Paris 1909: Gold Medal, 1909 harvest
Livre d'Or Concours et Exposition Diplôme commémoratif 1er Prix
Good farm management : Prime d'Honneur
Cahors
A wine with two millennia of history
Considered to be one of the oldest wines in Europe, the history of Cahors wine goes back to Gallo-Roman times, when Julius Caesar's legions planted vines on the Quercy plateaux. Cahors' reputation continued to grow throughout the Middle Ages, from the English court to the Tsars of Russia. Francis I was one of the most ardent defenders of Cahors, following in the footsteps of Pope John XXII who, in Avignon, made this the noblest of mass wines. In the 20th century, the President of the Republic, Georges Pompidou, contributed to the A.O.C. classification of this appellation in search of new letters of nobility. In the 19th century, before the invasion of phylloxera, the Cadurcian vineyards covered 40,000 hectares of vines, spread over an excellent terroir of gravel and limestone.Here, Auxerrois has been king for 2,000 years because it has found the right geological and climatic conditions to express its optimum qualities. Although its scientific name is Cot (also known as Malbec), Auxerrois is an exceptional grape variety that also includes Tannat in its family.
After fermentation, it produces a very dark juice, with abundant tannins and strong aromas. Blackberry, liquorice and blackcurrant all play their part in this symphony of flavours, which can be adapted to suit the vintage.
The terroir, the climate and the grape variety are gifts from nature which, combined with the efforts of the winemaker, are the great assets of a Cahors that has survived the ages and crossed borders to become one of the best wines in France.
The Cahors appellation in brief
Date of first vineyard: Gallo-Roman period.
Surface area of vineyards before phylloxera: 40,000 hectares
Date of the AOC decree: 15 April 1971
Surface area of the Cahors AOC: 3,368 hectares declared in 2022
Number of winegrowers: around 450
Grape varieties: Malbec (around 70%), Merlot and Tannat
Geographical location: in the meandering Lot valley
Climate: sunny autumn for late harvests

Appellation

Cahors AOP

Région viticole

Sud-Ouest

Country

France

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Production mode

Year of certification

2020-01-01

Quality approach

None

Packaging

Glass bottle

Product type

Sweet and liqueur wine

Sparkling wine

Still wine

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Distribution networks

Current customer(s) type

Caviste

Exportateur

Grossiste

Current countries

Allemagne

Belgique

Canada

France

Ile de la Réunion

Irlande

Luxembourg

Pologne

Royaume-Uni

République Tchèque

République de Corée

Suède

Type of target customer(s)

Exporter

Wholesaler

Target country(ies)

South Africa

Albania

Algeria

Andorra

Angola

Anguilla

Antigua and Barbuda

Saudi Arabia

Argentina

Armenia

Aruba

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Bahamas

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Barbados

Belgium

Belize

Bermuda

Bhutan

Bolivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Brunei Darussalam

Brazil

Bulgaria

Belarus

Cambodia

Cameroon

Cape Verde

Chile

China

Cyprus

Colombia

Croatia

Ivory Coast

Denmark

Spain

Estonia

Fiji

Finland

Greece

Guadeloupe

Guam

Guatemala

Guernsey

Guyana

French Guiana

Georgia

Haiti

Honduras

Hong Kong

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Iceland

Italy

Japan

Jersey

Jordan

Laos

Latvia

Lithuania

Macau

Maldives

Malta

Morocco

Martinique

Mauritius

Mayotte

Monaco

Montenegro

Norway

New Zealand

Panama

Papua New Guinea

Paraguay

The Netherlands

Philippines

French Polynesia

Puerto Rico

Portugal

Peru

Qatar

Romania

Rwanda

Dominican Republic

Czech Republic

Saint-Barthélemy

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Holy See (Vatican City State)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Helena Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Saint Lucia

Samoa

American Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Serbia

Seychelles

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

Sri Lanka

Swiss

Suede

Swaziland

Tanzania

Taiwan

British Indian Ocean Territory

Thailand

Trinidad and Tobago

Tunisia

Türkiye

Tuvalu

Uruguay

Vietnam

Venezuela

Wallis and Futuna

United Arab Emirates

Ecuador

UNITED STATES

Cayman Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands

British Virgin Islands

United States Virgin Islands

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Website

Visit the SAS DUROU website

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Main contact

First name

Manon

Name

CATHARY

Function

Assistant(e)