Fronton AOC

AOC area in the southwest wine region of France immediately west of the AOC area Gaillac. The name replaced the designation "Côtes du Frontonnais" from the 2005 vintage onwards. In the first classification, which took place in 1975, the two then VDQS divisions Villaudric and Fronton were merged. This is a very old wine-growing area, the first vines were planted by the Romans. It was once owned by the knights of the Order of Saint John, founded around 1050. During the siege of Montauban, capital of the Tarn-et-Garonne département and then headquarters of the Huguenots, King Louis XIII (1601-1643) and his minister Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642) carried out extensive wine tasting here.

The terraced vineyards cover 2,300 hectares of vineyards in communes of the departments of Haute-Garonne and Tarnet-Garonne on the left bank of the Tarn. One third of the vineyards produce rosé wines and two thirds are used to make red wines known as "Beaujolais of Toulouse". These are blended from a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 70% of the main Négrette variety, as well as Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Fer Servadou, Gamay, Cinsaut and Mauzac Noir. Well-known producers in the area are Château Baudare, Château Bellevue la Forêt, Château Boujac, Château Bouissel, Château Cahuzac, Château Coutinel, Château Flotis, Domaines de Gaze, Domaine Joliet, Château Marguerite, Domaine du Roc, Château Plaisance and Château St-Guilhem.