🍷 Jurançon

Jurançon is a sweet white wine from the Pyrenean foothills in south-west France, made from grapes dried on the vine. Jurançon is a protected designation of origin (AOC) for still white wines from the northern foothills of the Pyrenees in south-west France. The vineyards lie mostly on hilltops and steep slopes, often on terraces, in 25 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, south and west of Pau. Under the name Jurançon alone the wine is sweet, with more than 40 grams of sugar per litre; the dry wine is labelled Jurançon sec and has no more than 4 grams.

The sweet wine is made from grapes left to over-ripen and shrivel on the vine. This is called passerillage: the berries lose water and their sugar becomes more concentrated. The grapes are picked by hand in several successive passes. For wines labelled vendanges tardives (late harvest), picking starts no earlier than 2 November. In autumn a warm, dry south wind of the foehn type helps the grapes to over-ripen.

The main grapes are Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng; Camaralet de Lasseube, Courbu, Petit Courbu and Lauzet are accessory varieties. These late-ripening local grapes have thick skins and resist grey rot well. Their high acidity balances the sugar, so even the sweet wines stay fresh. Young wines show mainly fruity and floral aromas, which with age develop towards dried fruit and spice.

The vineyard probably developed in the 14th century, and the wines were promoted at the court of the kings of Navarre in Pau. The appellation was recognised for sweet white wines in 1936 and for dry white wines in 1975; the mention vendanges tardives has been allowed since 1995.