Jurançon

From the southwest of France Jurançon refers to a white wine. Recognized as an appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), it comes in dry, sweet and syrupy varieties. It first graced royal tables at the christening of King Henri IV in the 16th century. Although described as a fiery, imperious prince's wine, it retains its mountain origins.

Types of Jurançon wine

With a vineyard area of 1,000 hectares, Jurançon appellation d'origine contrôlée designates exclusively sweet, dry and syrupy white wines.

Jurançon dry white wine

With its bright, clear yellow color and green highlights, the Jurançon wine blanc-sec has an intense perfume with fruity notes of apple, pear, banana and citrus, exotic fruits, not forgetting floral aromas and spices. Because of the explosive fruit mix, this wine is round and dense with an excellent balance between sugar and acidity. You can cellar this Jurançon wine for five years or more. Ideally, it should be served at a temperature of 11°C, i.e. not too hot and not too cold.

Sweet Jurançon wine

More concentrated in sugar, this sweet white wine is golden in color. With its notes of citrus and sweet spices, it has an unmistakable taste that gives you real gourmet pleasure when you taste it. This type of wine can be cellared for up to seven years. Depending on your preferences, enjoy it with sweet or savory dishes.

Sweet Jurançon wine

It is the noblest of all Jurançon wines. It is characterized by a late harvest. Its production requires meticulous work, particularly in the vineyards. Jurançon vineyard and winery. With its sumptuous golden color, this product is flavored with honey, plums and orange to delight the taste buds. Its shelf life is unlimited.

How to enjoy Jurançon wine

Very delicious, Jurançon wine goes well with all types of gourmet menus, including main courses, starters, aperitifs and desserts. To give you an idea, it goes very well with foie-gras aux raisons, pan-fried or with onions. Don't hesitate to serve it with veal chops, spit-roasted cake, pie, cheese puff pastries... In terms of cheese, choose from bleu des Causses, Persille des Aravis, bleu d'Auvergne, Roquefort...

How to recognize Jurançon wine?

The aroma of honey makes it easy to recognize Jurançon. In the palette, you'll find white flowers, spices and candied fruit. Also known as Petit Manseng, local grape varieties add nuances of cinnamon and ripe fruit. Some of the fragrant notes of sweet Jurançon, such as spiciness and honey, are also found in dry Jurançon.

Each producer produces sweet wines with a different personality. A Jurançon wine is successful when the sweetness of the residual sugars is balanced and it provides a certain liveliness. In addition to its delicacy, the concentration of this wine is staggering. On the palate, it's a little pearly and swift, revealing a round, waitress-like structure. It finishes on a sparkling note.

The Jurançon vineyards are located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region around Jurançon and Monein, in an area to the west and south of Pau. The Jurançon appellation covers a total of 25 communes, which have been classified as AOC since 1936.

The total cultivated area of the Jurançon appellation is around 1,000 hectares. The vineyards are planted on hillsides facing south-southeast, sheltered from the prevailing winds. The climate is oceanic, but also subject to the influences of the nearby mountains and the benefits of the southern heat, making it possible to use the over-ripening technique necessary for the production of great sweet wines. The quality of Jurançon wines is perfectly reflected in the crus offered by Domaine de Souch, Domaine Vignau La Juscle and Domaine de Cauhapé.

The grape varieties used for Jurançon wines are Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng, Courbu, Camaralet and Lauzet. They are used to produce the sweet and dry wines of the Jurançon appellation, 60% of the annual production of around 30,000 hectolitres being made from the latter.