Montréal du Gers is one of the first bastide towns in Gascony which has retained the character of these new towns typical of the Middle Ages.
The name of the town, Montréal (or "Montroyal"), recalls the royal origin of this bastide founded in 1255 by Alphonse de Poitiers. Built out of the rock on a promontory overlooking the small Auzoue valley, it played a strategic role as a barrier placed between the French and English domains at the time of the Hundred Years' War. From its past, Montréal-du-Gers retains a rich heritage: fortified enclosure, pointed city gate, half-timbered houses, square surrounded by solid stone arcades, narrow passages serving the different islets of the bastide.
- The oldest brandy in France, the fruit of a triple heritage: Roman for the cultivation of the vine, Moorish for the secrets of the still and the distillation, Celtic for the barrel technique. Aygo Ardento or Aquae Ardens was born in Gascony, cited as early as the 14th century in the texts of doctors and alchemists…
- Montréal, located in the heart of Ténarèze, has one of the largest vineyards in Armagnac. Its 4,500 hectares of vines produce an Armagnac with a prune flavor and violet scent.
- You can visit numerous cellars which will welcome you to introduce you to this elixir and also Floc de Gascogne, a marriage of grape juice and Armagnac.
- Foies gras and confits: Take the time to taste these tasty specialties that are just as gourmet as they are Gascony. Foies gras, confits, duck breasts; all these natural products will make you discover the sincerity of gastronomy.
- Côtes de Gascogne wines:
- As evidenced by the mosaic preserved from the time of the Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac in Montréal du Gers, the Gascon vineyard produced wines 1600 years ago. At that time, the Adour and Baïse rivers represented privileged routes for transporting wines to the Nordic countries.
- Gascony, a generous and green region nestled between sea and mountains, already devoted almost all of its hillsides and valleys to the art of vines.
- Today, almost two thirds of the Gers vineyards are devoted to the production of Côtes de Gascogne country wines.
- The commune has a significant number of wine farms producing high quality wines on its territory.
