A terroir for great wines

The Count's winery is located on the Cordais plateau in the north of the Gaillac, a forgotten wine region in south-west France. Embedded in a gentle hilly landscape along the river Tarn, the plateau with its barren soil is considered the best terroir in the region with ideal conditions for great wines.

ancient vineyards,
reinterpreted

The count's vineyards, steeped in history, extend over 27 hectares around the winery. Where his predecessor once produced quite rustic cuvées from Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the local grape varieties Duras and Braucol, today Ferdinand von Thun and his oenologists mainly cultivate Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The winery's vineyards, which are steeped in history, cover 27 hectares in the middle of the Cordais plateau and the grape varieties that have been part of the Gaillac viticulture for centuries are cultivated and that find the best conditions in the climate, location and soil of the plateau: Syrah , Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir.

Renaissance of a unique terroir

The Gaillac is a slumbering wine region in south-west France that has been badly affected by history and has an incredible amount of potential, which Ferdinand von Thun and his friend Riccardo are waking up with the visionary project "Comte de Thun". In the 13th to 17th centuries, the strong, dark red red wines of the region were sought after throughout Europe. The excellent reputation of the wines from the Gaillac extended to the English royal court - and even the upper classes of Bordeaux were supplied with the wine of the rival. Today it is the harmonious combination of terroir, microclimate, fascinating history and passionate people that make the region the cradle of great wines again.

The History of Gaillac

From the late Middle Ages to the time of the Sun King Louis XIV 13th to 17th century – became the bold, dark and long-lived Red wines of the region particularly appreciated in Northern Europe and often preferred to the thinner Bordeaux wines. In wooden barrels, which were branded with a rooster, the "Crus Tarnais" were carried to the English royal court by Henry III. (1216-1272) and Henry VIII (1491-1574) and shipped around the world as “Vins du Coq" known.

1300

1500

This first hallmark in the history of wine - first used in 1387 and Officially recognized in 1501 - stands for great wines, which got better and better due to their ability to be stored during shipping. Its success inevitably invited rivalries and, ultimately, forgeries. Because the wines from the Bordeaux region were at that time much inferior in quality - and less in demand. As a result, the city of Bordeaux immediately imposed high duties on the “Vins du Coq” in order to minimize their international export via its port. Also became the Wines from the Gaillac liked by the merchants of the Garonne estuary over time "Vins Médecins" blended with thinner Bordeaux wines to improve them and sell them under the Bordeaux appellation.

It's this slowly growing blend culture, which continued to stimulate demand for wines from the Gaillac, but at the same time slowly caused the sign of the rooster to disappear - until 1751, when it lost all of its meaning and was forgotten. However, such strategic defeats did not diminish the industrious vitality of the region: for example, in Gaillac in the late 16th century sparkling wine produced – Locals think even before Champagne started with it.

1700

1900

In the early 19th century, Bordeaux once again slowed down the ongoing success of its rival: Gaillac was only allowed to deliver its goods to the city after all the Bordeaux wines had been sold. Towards the end of the 19th century, the unstoppable Spread of phylloxera as well as devastating famines for the fact that the farmers of the region preferred to grow other crops than wine - and Gaillac fell into a deep sleep as a wine-growing region. What remains today is a outstanding terroir in combination with an unusual microclimate and a breathtaking history - the best conditions for World class wines. Gaillac is divided into six sub-regions, whose terroirs extend across terraces, rolling hills and wide plains and are very different from each other: The "Plateau Cordais" sub-region - home of the von Thun'schen vines - is considered to be the best terroir of Gaillac.

Since the end of the 19th century, it has been dormant, relatively unknown today and badly affected by history Galliac wine region however, a slumber. One of the oldest wine-growing regions in the world and once highly regarded throughout Europe, today it offers one thing in particular, in addition to a large number of quite simply knitted wines made from local grape varieties: wonderful terroir, whose potential has not yet been exhausted.
It is these conditions and the rich history of the region that inspired Ferdinand von Thun and his friend Riccardo Cotarella to create great, storable wines that express their origins with finesse and independence. Powerful and with an elegant structure reminiscent of a Bordeaux - but with its own cooler spiciness and minerality. The wines from "Comte de Thun" are a contemporary version of the "Vis de Coq" and the prelude to the renaissance of top wines from Gaillac.

til today