Grape Guide
Fer Servadou
RedFer Servadou is a tannic, deeply coloured red variety of south-west France, planted mainly in the Aveyron, Tarn and Gers and a grandparent of Carmenère through Gros Cabernet. It dominates the Marcillac appellation, where it is called Mansois, and plays a supporting role as Braucol or Pinenc in Gaillac, Madiran and several neighbouring appellations.
Key Characteristics
- Old variety of south-west France, possibly of Basque origin, whose own parents are unknown, and an ancestor of Carmenère via Gros Cabernet
- Mid-ripening, with erratic fertility that calls for long pruning
- Good resistance to botrytis, though vulnerable to powdery mildew and a magnet for leafhoppers
- Prefers poor, stony or carbonate-rich soils and a fresh climate with adequate water
- High in catechins and procyanidins, which gives deep colour and firm tannin
Typical Flavors
Major Regions
Marcillac (Aveyron) · Gaillac (Tarn) · Estaing and Entraygues et le Fel (Aveyron) · Madiran and Béarn · Fronton · Saint-Mont and Tursan
Also Known As
Braucol (Gaillac) · Mansois or Mansoi (Marcillac) · Pinenc (Madiran) · Fer (Gironde · Lot) · Servadou (Lot-et-Garonne) · Hère (Gironde) · Samençois (Aveyron) · Estronc (Lot) · Mourac · Gragnelut (Friuli-Venezia Giulia · Italy)
Overview
Fer Servadou makes well-coloured red wines with a firm, sometimes rustic tannic grip and an acid backbone. Fully ripe fruit leans toward cassis and red berries, while underripe crops show a wild, herbaceous side that recalls Cabernet Franc, a resemblance that fits the variety's place in the same ampelographic family. Producers who want to tame the tannins rely on low yields, full ripeness and careful extraction. Its identity is split by geography. In Marcillac, in the Aveyron, it is the local grape (Mansois) and is bottled almost alone, in red and rosé. Across the Tarn and Gers it is Braucol or Fer, usually a component in blends with Duras, Syrah or the Cabernets. Plantings in France stood at about 1,610 ha around 2009, after a slump in the 1970s and 1980s, and have recovered with better clonal selection. Outside France it is almost unknown.
Origins & History
Fer is among the oldest recorded varieties of south-west France. Late eighteenth-century records from Montauban, Bergerac, Agen, Rodez and Condom list it under five different names, including Fer, Servadou, Samençois, Pinenc and Hère, which shows it was already widespread across the Garonne basin and the Aveyron. The name Fer, like Hère, is generally linked to the Latin ferus, wild, in line with the idea that it was drawn from local wild vines. A tempting link to the French word for iron is considered less convincing. Servadou is a dialect word for a grape that keeps well, probably a reference to how its bunches last through winter. DNA work published in 2009 showed that Fer and the Basque variety Hondarribi Beltza crossed naturally to produce Gros Cabernet, which in turn crossed with Cabernet Franc to give Carmenère. That made Fer a grandparent of Carmenère and placed it in the Carmenet group of related varieties. A later analysis reported in some references names a different, unidentified partner for Hondarribi Beltza, so the exact pairing should be treated with some caution. The parentage suggests a Basque country origin even though the variety is traditionally credited to the Gironde. The Friulian vines known as Gragnelut have a DNA profile identical to Fer, and Fer was one parent used in breeding the Italian crossing Egiodola. Historically it was confused with Béquignol Noir, and the older ampelographic literature described Fer under the name Mourac.
Viticultural Characteristics
Fer ripens in mid-season and has erratic fertility, so it is pruned long to secure a regular crop. It resists botrytis bunch rot well, which helps in the damper vintages of south-west France, but it is vulnerable to powdery mildew and attracts leafhoppers, so spray programmes need to be watchful. It performs best on poor, stony soils. A regional study found a clear preference for carbonate-bearing soils, where wines show more acidity, colour and aromatic complexity, and a cool climate with sufficient water supply suits it. In Marcillac the vines are traditionally grown on steep terraces over iron-rich red clay. Its skins are rich in catechins and procyanidins, which explains both its colour and its tannic firmness. Vineyard area fell sharply in the late twentieth century and has since partly recovered.
Wine Styles & Characteristics
The classic expression is a dry red of deep colour, medium to full body, sharp acidity and pronounced tannin. When picked ripe it shows cassis, raspberry and red cherry, with peppery spice and a herbal edge; when underripe the tannins turn green and the character becomes rustic. Marcillac reds are typically bottled young for their fruit, though the best examples can age, and are made in both stainless steel and large old oak. Dry rosé from Marcillac is fresh and fruity, and a ratafia-style fortified wine is also made. In blends, Fer Servadou (Braucol) brings structure, colour and acidity to softer partners such as Duras, Syrah, Merlot and the Cabernets. Varietal bottlings outside the strict limits of an appellation are sometimes labelled as regional wines because blending rules can cap the share allowed in a given appellation.