Saint-Sardos is an appellation for red and rosé wines made along a stretch of the Garonne river in southwestern France. The sunny, alluvial terroir in the area is well suited to viticulture, which shares the landscape with other forms of agriculture. Syrah and Tannat are the main grape varieties planted here, producing dense, spicy red wines that match well with the local cuisine.
The appellation covers 23 villages in the south of the Tarn-et-Garonne administrative department, 25 miles (40km) north of Toulouse. It borders the much larger Cotes de Gascogne IGP, and the better-known AOC appellations Fronton and Gaillac are just east of Saint-Sardos's vineyard area. The Garonne river flows past the eastern edge of the permitted vineyard land, and has had a considerable effect on the terroir of the area.
Vineyards in the Saint-Sardos appellation are located on alluvial terraces that step upward from the river. These terraces have an array of different exposures, giving growers considerable choice for site selection. On the upper slopes, dry, washed-out soils made up of pebbly limestone offer excellent drainage and warm easily over summer, helping ripening. Closer to the river, the soils are more silty and retain higher amounts of water.
Saint-Sardos is roughly equidistant from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and feels climatic influence from both. Winters are mild and the summers hot and sunny, with occasional warm, southerly breezes bringing some drying influences to the vineyards. However, the prevailing wind is a westerly that brings moisture from the Atlantic, and rainfall is dispersed evenly throughout the year. Vines receive plentiful hydration, but the drainage afforded by the stony soils ensures this is never too much.
Syrah is a particularly important grape variety in the area, and usually forms the basis of Saint-Sardos wines, ameliorated in the blend with Tannat. Cabernet Franc and Merlot are also permitted, albeit in much smaller quantities. While red wine is the most common style of wine made here, rosé – also based on Syrah – forms slightly more than a quarter of production.
Wines have been made around the small village of Saint-Sardos for hundreds of years, with the first vineyards established by several local abbeys in the Middle Ages. The wines of Saint-Sardos were sold in Toulouse and Bordeaux throughout the years until the vineyards were attacked by the phylloxera louse in the late 19th Century. The establishment of a cooperative in the region in the 1950s led to a rejuvenation of sorts, and Saint-Sardos became a Vin de Pays in 1973. It was upgraded to VDQS in 2005, before finally becoming an AOC in 2011.
