La Glacière white 2024 — Silver Medal at the Paris General Agricultural Competition: the true value of an IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard
In March 2026, the Concours Général Agricole de Paris awarded a Silver Medal to La Glacière white 2024 from Domaine de Panéry — IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard, 2024 vintage, a blend of Chardonnay and Souvignier Gris, from a 48 hectoliter batch. This was neither a stroke of luck nor a marketing ploy. It was a technical validation for a wine produced from organic viticulture in an appellation that few consumers truly know, despite the prestige of its geographical roots. It's time to give it its due.
1. The IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard: an appellation to (re)discover
A territory with Roman foundations
The IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard covers a geographical area along the Gardon watershed, between the Cévennes foothills to the north, the plains of the Gard to the south, and the remarkable heritage of the Roman aqueduct at its center. The Pont du Gard itself, built in the 1st century AD to supply water to the city of Nîmes via a 50-kilometer aqueduct, is the best-preserved Roman monument in the world — and it lends its name to a Protected Geographical Indication that deserves more than the anonymity to which it is often confined.
The vineyard terroir of the IGP is characterized by a composite geology: rolled pebbles of Rhone origin on the Gardon alluvium, red clays and limestones from the Upper Jurassic on the hillsides. This diversity of soils gives the wines an aromatic and structural complexity that the mono-geological soils of neighboring appellations do not always achieve. The climate is distinctly Mediterranean: hot and dry summers, regular mistral and tramontane winds that reduce pest pressure and concentrate the grapes, and mild winters.
A flexible, often under-exploited appellation
The IGP allows for a wide range of grape varieties — far beyond those authorized in stricter AOPs like Duché d'Uzès or Côtes-du-Rhône. This is both its strength and its readability challenge: without rigid varietal constraints, interpretations are numerous, and quality varies greatly depending on the producers. Estates that choose to invest seriously in this appellation — with careful viticulture, controlled yields, and thoughtful production — can produce remarkable wines, often more affordable than well-known appellations, and just as complex.
Panéry is one of the few estates in the Gard to work the IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard with such rigor. Its 70 hectares of vineyards, all managed under certified organic farming, cover five distinct appellations — a rare diversity that testifies to the agronomic ambition and complexity of the terroir.
2. The Concours Général Agricole: protocol and selectivity
The Concours Général Agricole has been organized since 1870 as part of the Paris International Agricultural Show. Its wine section, coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty via CENECA, brings together several thousand samples each year. In 2025, over 22,000 wines were presented across all categories, evaluated by approximately 7,000 volunteer tasters divided into juries of 5 members.
The evaluation protocol follows OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) standards: blind tasting, scoring out of 100 points according to the OIV grid (visual, olfactory, gustatory examination), harmonization of scores within the jury. For the 2026 edition, Domaine de Panéry submitted La Glacière white 2024 vintage, batch no./L25114/GLA24BL, with a volume of 48 hectoliters — which corresponds to a modest-sized cuvée, consistent with careful, non-industrial production.
The Silver Medal places this wine in the top decile of evaluated wines in its category. The overall medal rate of the CGA fluctuates between 35 and 45% of presented wines, with approximately 20% gold and 80% silver and bronze among the medalists. A silver medal at the CGA is therefore not an automatic approval — it is a real distinction, awarded by a jury of professionals who tasted blind.
3. La Glacière white 2024: varietal and sensory profile
The blend: Chardonnay and Souvignier Gris
The blend of La Glacière white 2024 relies on two grape varieties with very different profiles. Chardonnay, a cosmopolitan grape par excellence, brings a floral and fruity aromatic structure to the Mediterranean region (pear, citrus, sometimes brioche notes with bâtonnage), with a natural acidity that, under the Gard sun, must be preserved by early harvest.
Souvignier Gris is an ampelographic curiosity. A resistant grape variety (PIWI — pilzwiderstandsfähig, meaning resistant to cryptogamic diseases) resulting from a cross between Seyval Blanc and Bronner carried out in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1987, it was listed in the Official Catalogue of Vine Species and Varieties in France in 2021. Its natural resistance to downy and powdery mildew allows for a drastic reduction in fungicide treatments — a considerable asset in organic viticulture. Its aromatic profile is characteristic: notes of white-fleshed fruits, slight nuances of grape skin, a taut palate with lively acidity. Its potential alcohol is moderate, making it a grape variety suitable for current expectations of fresh-profile wines.
The blend of the two grape varieties produces a white that plays on complementarity: the roundness and aromatic complexity of Chardonnay temper the liveliness of Souvignier Gris, which in turn brings tension and freshness. The result is a fruity and floral white wine, with a pale color and green reflections, expressing notes of ripe pear and citrus on the nose, with a mineral, fresh, and subtly spiced palate.
Food pairings
La Glacière white naturally pairs with fish en papillote, seafood (shrimp, seared scallops), roasted poultry, asparagus, and light Mediterranean dishes (sea bream ceviche, salmon carpaccio). It is an enjoyable, accessible white, not trying to impress — but holding its own on a refined table. At Panéry, it regularly appears on the domain's restaurant menu, paired with appetizers and fish from the seasonal menu.
4. Organic viticulture at Panéry: a commitment, not an argument
Organic farming in viticulture is not limited to the absence of synthetic pesticides. It involves a complete overhaul of the agronomic approach: soil maintenance through grassing between rows (which promotes biodiversity of natural predators and structures the soil), vigor management through pruning and leaf removal rather than herbicides, phytosanitary treatments limited to authorized products (copper, sulfur in controlled doses), and sustained attention to soil health — which ultimately conditions the resilience of the vines to water and heat stress.
For an estate the size of Panéry — 70 hectares of vines out of a total of 500 hectares, in a Mediterranean garrigue environment already rich in biodiversity — the organic approach is consistent with the overall project. Olive trees are cultivated without chemical inputs, truffle groves are maintained according to practices that respect mycorrhizae, and the estate is involved in experimental research on resistant grape varieties — such as Souvignier Gris itself, which illustrates this long-term vision.
This agronomic coherence is not merely virtuous from an environmental perspective. It has a sensory translation: wines from living soils, cultivated without chemical simplification, express an aromatic and mineral complexity that conventional viticulture does not systematically achieve — even if the direct causal relationship between biology and sensory quality remains debated in enological literature.
5. La Glacière in the history of Panéry's award-winning wines
La Glacière white is not a first attempt. The estate has already won a Silver Medal for this same wine at the Challenge Millésime Bio 2024 — a competition specializing in organic wines, organized in Montpellier, and a benchmark in the sector in France. This recurrence is not an accident: it confirms that the qualities of La Glacière are reproducible from one vintage to another, which is much stronger proof of mastery than an isolated medal.
More broadly, the estate's wines have accumulated distinctions across several appellations and cuvées: La Madone red and white (AOP Duché d'Uzès, IGP Pays d'Oc) have won medals at the Challenge Millésime Bio and the Concours des Vins d'Orange. La Garuste white (AOP Côtes-du-Rhône) won bronze at the CGA 2023. And on the other side of the estate, the wines accompanied guests at Terrasse by Albane x Mauro Colagreco during the Cannes Film Festival — a sign of recognition that extends beyond competitions alone.
6. What a CGA silver medal says — and what it doesn't
A silver medal at the Concours Général Agricole is a blind validation by a jury of professionals for a specific batch, at a specific moment. It certifies that this particular batch, presented under these conditions, meets a high standard of quality. It does not guarantee that all vintages of La Glacière will be awarded medals — annual climatic conditions influence the wine's profile — nor that all bottles from the award-winning batch are strictly identical.
What is more informative than an isolated medal is recurrence. La Glacière white was awarded a medal in 2024 at the Challenge Millésime Bio, and in 2026 at the CGA. Two different competitions, two different juries, two different vintages — same conclusion. This is what truly indicates the structural quality of the wine.
The mention on the label is authorized until the awarded batch is depleted. If you purchase a bottle of La Glacière white 2024 bearing the CGA 2026 logo, you are purchasing a bottle from the exact batch evaluated by the jury — not a vague evocation of past quality.
Conclusion: a Gard terroir that deserves its place in our glasses
The IGP Coteaux du Pont du Gard does not have the renown of Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Saint-Émilion. Nor does it have their constraints and prices. What it offers — provided the producer has the necessary seriousness and ambition — is an authentic terroir wine, rooted in an exceptional geography, produced with increasing agronomic rigor, and accessible without the price surcharges associated with appellations saturated by demand.
La Glacière white 2024, Silver Medal at the CGA 2026, is a good representative of what the Gard can achieve when it puts in the effort to do it well. A pale color, a fruity and floral nose, a mineral and fresh palate, a blend that plays on complementarity rather than power. A table wine, in the best sense of the term: designed to be drunk, shared, and enjoyed.
What is Souvignier Gris?
Souvignier Gris is a resistant grape variety (known as PIWI) resulting from a cross made in Germany in 1987, listed in the Official French Catalogue of Vine Varieties in 2021. Its natural resistance to downy and powdery mildew makes it particularly suitable for organic viticulture, as it reduces the need for fungicides. Its aromatic profile features white-fleshed fruits and citrus, with lively acidity and a moderate alcohol content.
What is the difference between an IGP and an AOP in viticulture?
The Protected Geographical Indication (IGP) is a more flexible framework than the Protected Designation of Origin (AOP). The IGP defines a geographical area and imposes certain production rules but allows a broader range of grape varieties and generally higher yields. The AOP is more restrictive: precise plot delimitation, a restricted list of grape varieties, and regulated winemaking practices. This flexibility of the IGP allows for experiments like the introduction of Souvignier Gris — impossible in an AOP.
How should La Glacière white be stored?
An IGP white wine of this profile (fruity, fresh, mineral) is designed to be consumed young — ideally within 2 to 3 years of the vintage. Store in a cool, stable temperature (12–14°C), away from light. Serve between 10 and 12°C.
Domaine de Panéry · Route d'Uzès · 30210 Pouzilhac (Gard) · panery.fr · Tel. +33 (0)4 66 37 04 44