Comte Tolosan is an IGP title that covers wines made in a large area of South West France. The catchment area of the IGP encompasses 12 administrative departments, and is home to a wide range of AOC-level appellations such as Jurancon, Cahors and Armagnac. The IGP exists to cover wines that are made in the areas outside of these appellations, or with different grape varieties and winemaking styles.
The region is a part of the Aquitaine Basin – the plains that fall between the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Spain lies to the south, and the vineyards of Languedoc-Roussillon can be found in the east. The Gironde estuary and the famous vineyards of Bordeaux are in the north.
© Wikimedia/Benh Lieu Song
Most IGP-related viticulture takes place in the center of the basin, along the course of the Garonne river. Here, old alluvial terraces provide well-drained, rocky environments for the vines, allowing for good flavor concentration in the grapes and deep, healthy root systems. In general, red wine grape varieties are found in the vineyards north of the river, while white wine varieties are found in the southern parts of the area.
The region enjoys a mostly maritime climate, although the sheer size of the area means that this is felt to varying degrees. Most of the viticultural areas are influenced climatically by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, which provides moderated summer and winter temperatures and high rainfall. Further inland, the climate is far more Mediterranean, however, with hotter, dryer conditions during the growing season.
The grape varieties permitted in Comte Tolosan IGP wines are indicative of the region’s location: local grape varieties such as Petit Manseng, Colombard, Tannat and Cot (Malbec) are all a part of the various AOC appellations as well as the IGP level wines. This list is also populated by better-known grape varieties such as Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Along with the AOC appellations here, Comte Tolosan IGP shares land with a selection of other IGP titles as well, including Cotes de Gascogne, Lavilledieu and Aveyron. Comte Tolosan also has five sub-appellations of its own: Bigorre, Coteaux et Terrasses de Montauban, Pyrenees Atlantiques, Tarn et Garonne, Haute-Garonne and Cantal.
The Aquitaine Basin was previously covered by the Vin de Pays du Comte Tolosan designation. However, as the Vin de Pays category has been phased out of French wine law since 2009, it now falls under the Indication Géographique Protégée (IGP) category of French wines.
