With fierce pride and long-standing traditions, these small, scattered, wine-producing areas make impressive wines of considerable individuality.

Monbazillac has always produced high quality sweet wines but Château Tirecul has taken the quality to new and previously unscaled heights with its Muscadelle/Sémillon blends.

Bergerac wines used to be traded as Bordeaux and they are still very similar in style to their famous neighbours. The pretty hillside vineyards of Gaillac, however, are more traditional, growing local grapes like Mauzac alongside the classic Bordeaux varieties.

On the edge of Basque country, the hilly district of Madiran is one of the gems of the south-west, producing rich, aromatic, flavoursome reds from the local Tannat grape with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon. Just to the north lies the popular and ever-improving region of Vin de Pays de Côtes de Gascogne that produces classic, fresh wines with good varietal character.