As you leave Toulouse, you can see the Fronton area and its vines tumbling down the wide terraces between the rivers of the Tarn and the Garonne. At first sight, they look like any other vineyard, but in fact they contain a rare varietal, the Négrette. Where does it come from, this vine? There's little doubt that it's Cyprus, brought back after the Crusades. But it has always found itself at home in the ferriferous quartz gravel here, and it has always given wines marked by a powerful scent of violets (blackberry / bilberry / violet) and a dominating aftertaste.
Fronton (from the name of the village wine co-operative) is the nickname given to the AOC "Côtes du Frontonnais", so dear to the people of Toulouse.
The winegrowing region around Fronton and Villaudric is astride the border between the departments of the Tarn-et-Garonne and the Haute-Garonne. It consists of a relatively homogenous natural unit, consisting exclusively of **quarternary** alluvial terraces on the left bank of the Tarn.
The climate is that which is found throughout the Toulouse region. Breezy and moderately wet, it plays no part in determining the winegrowing limits, as there are no significant micro-climatic variations.
The vineyards are all on the 3 alluvial **qarternary** terraces on the left bank of the Tarn. They correspond to the three periods of aggradation when the Tarn built up the alluvial plain through which it runs today.