Floc de Gascogne is a French mistelle or “vin de mutage”—either white or rosé—where grape juice in its first stage of fermentation is mixed with Armagnac (just as cognac makes its pineau des charentes), resulting in something that is akin to a fortified wine, with an alcohol content of some 18–20 percent. See mistelle. Both the juice and the Armagnac must come from the legally defined areas of Armagnac production. See Armagnac. Approximately 2,300 acres of grapevines provide the juice. Within any particular holding, white grapes must by law include at least 70 percent Colombard, gros manseng, and ugni blanc (cognac’s dominant grape), and no more than 30 percent can be comprised of folle blanche, mauzac, petit manseng, sauvignon blanc, sauvignon gris, baroque, and sémillon. For red wine holdings, no more than 50 percent can be Tannat, while cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, malbec (called cot in this region), fer servadou, and merlot are not limited by law.
Typically, Floc is made from two-thirds to three-quarters grape juice and one-third to one-quarter Armagnac (at least 52 percent alcohol by volume), often coming from the same property, and slowly added over several days or more. The Armagnac is very young and not influenced by new oak maturation but has been stored in stainless steel or in older barrels. This new Floc de Gascogne cannot be bottled or sold until March 15 every year. It carries no vintage date (indeed, Flocs may be blended from more than one vintage of Armagnac). Sometimes it is barrel aged.
Floc de Gascogne was first known as Pineau (like its sibling in cognac) but was only a trifle in 1977 when it received official status (as a VQPRD), with perhaps only a few hundred cases produced annually. From there on it grew quickly and gained its AOC status in 1990; 2009 saw Floc receive POD status (Protected Designation of Origin). Its name, coined only in 1954, derives from “Lou Floc” which in the Occitan language means “bouquet of flowers.” Producers will often describe the unfermented juice as redolent of violets, roses, and plum blossoms.
Production today totals about one million liters from 120 or so producers, representing about 15 percent of the region’s total wine production, of which about a third is sold at the cellar door, mostly for local consumption, and another third is sold in French stores.
Styles can vary from bright and fruity to more pungent and austere, the difference sometimes being a function of barrel aging and sometimes of the choice of grapes (gros manseng tends to have more color and floral aromas). Floc is typically served cool or cold (4.5–7° C; 40–45° F) and is increasingly viewed as a cocktail enhancer, though most is still consumed on the rocks.
Comité Interprofessionnel du Floc-de-Gascogne. Floc de Gascogne. http://flocdegascogne.fr (accessed February 9, 2021).Neal, Charles. Armagnac. San Francisco: Flame Grape, 1998.
By: Doug Frost