At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Aveyron, Occitanie, France
- Appellation
- Marcillac
- Village
- Goutrens, Vallon de Marcillac
- Main grape
- Fer Servadou
- Signature wine
- Lo Sang del Pais
- Vineyard area
- 34 hectares
- Defining feature
- 34-hectare Fer Servadou estate in Marcillac
The Producer
Fer Servadou is the red grape behind Domaine du Cros's Marcillac wines. Based in Goutrens in Aveyron, the domaine farms 34 hectares in the Marcillac appellation. Its bottles stay focused on red wines from this local grape.
The cellar uses gravity flow after destemming, followed by ageing in large oak and chestnut barrels. The range includes Lo Sang del Pais, Les Rougiers, and Cuvée Vieilles Vignes.
Place
The vineyards lie in Goutrens, in the Vallon de Marcillac in Aveyron's Occitanie region. Vines occupy several hillsides between 400 and 450 meters.
Marcillac is the local appellation, while Goutrens supplies the village setting for the domaine. The vineyards are spread across different hillsides within the valley.
Soil And Site
Red, iron rich Permian geology known as rougiers underlies the vineyards. Cuvée Vieilles Vignes includes parcels on upper elevation limestone slopes, giving that cuvée a more specific ground address within the holding.
Story
In 1984, Philippe Teulier inherited a single hectare of Fer Servadou vineyard producing approximately 4,000 bottles per year. The domaine later expanded beyond that first hectare, and Julien Teulier joined the venture in 2004. Philippe and Julien now work together. The red wines remain Fer Servadou cuvées.
Vineyards And Cellar
After destemming, grapes are fed into fermentation tanks by gravity flow. Lo Sang del Pais undergoes a 21 day cuvaison, with the juice pumped over the cap during the first 6 days.
Cuvée Vieilles Vignes ferments at a slightly warmer temperature than the regular cuvée, with maceration extended to 5 weeks. It then ages in large oak and chestnut barrels for at least one year before bottling. Some of these barrels are up to 200 years old.
Wines
The range includes three named red cuvées with different drinking windows. Lo Sang del Pais is best enjoyed young. Les Rougiers is the main AOC Marcillac cuvée, suitable for drinking now or keeping for ten years or more. Cuvée Vieilles Vignes has an ageing potential of 8 or 10 years from the vintage.
In The Glass
Lo Sang del Pais has a red robe with violet reflections. The nose brings fresh red fruits and spices, led by blackcurrant and pepper. The palate follows with the same fruit and spice notes, ending with licorice and menthol.
Les Rougiers shows blackcurrant, mint, spice, and pepper. Its palate is full, with dark fruit, refined tannins, and vanilla from barrel ageing. The wine can be enjoyed now, while its tannins and fruit carry it through a long cellar life.
A Bottle To Understand It
Open with Cuvée Vieilles Vignes. It comes from parcels averaging over 80 years old on upper elevation limestone slopes. Its palate is full with dark fruit and integrated tannins, and the terroir emerges through the wine. The bottle puts specific old vine parcels at the front of the range.
Anecdote
At the steepest points of Domaine du Cros's hillsides, the slope reaches 65 percent. Machines cannot work there, so every bunch is hand harvested. The gradient changes the practical work of harvest, with the hillside picked by hand bunch by bunch. Fer Servadou comes from a landscape where the slope remains a direct limit on what equipment can do.
Final Word
Domaine du Cros is a Goutrens domaine built around Fer Servadou, red rougiers soils, steep hillsides, and a cellar using gravity flow with oak and chestnut ageing. Its cuvées range from young Lo Sang del Pais to longer lived Marcillac reds.
Sources
https://winetraditions.com/portfolio/wines/southwest/domaine-du-cros/ https://www.java-sud-ouest.fr/les-proprietes/domaine-du-cros https://www.domaine-du-cros.com/nos-vins/cuvee-lo-sang-del-pais-2015/ https://www.domaine-du-cros.com/nos-vins/les-rougiers-201/ https://www.domaine-du-cros.com/nos-vins/aoc-marcillac-cuvee-vv/