Description
For Sauternes lovers, this is a delicious and very interesting alternative, also from Southwest France, from the little known Petit Manseng grape.
TASTING NOTE: This has a lovely yellow-gold colour suggesting a youthful sweet wine. On the nose: fresh, appley, honeyed and peach aroma, with further stone fruit notes of apricot and tropical hints of mango and banana. On the palate: despite the tropical notes on the nose, this wine is fresh and well-balanced, and medium in body with delicious pure fruit flavours. similar to Sauternes in style although the alcohol and sweetness aren’t quite as high as the leading Sauternes’ wines, and there is an extra green apple note. But it’s still a sweet wine, nicely balanced by fresh acidity, leading to a long, fine, fruity finish.
FOOD PAIRING, STORING AND SERVING: A local match for sweet Jurancon is pate or foie gras, similar to slightly further north in Sauternes. Or for another savoury match, tarts such as tomato, onion or goats’ cheese. It also works well with local cheese from the Pyrenees and nearby, such as Roquefort for a blue, or a hard sheep’s cheese such as Ossau-Iraty. But, this is a sweet wine and mostly, we would match it with fruit desserts or fruity pancakes, which are wonderful with it. Or try Galette des rois, a classic French sweet pastry filled with almond and cream, mmmmmm! Dry now or till end of 2027 for a youthful style, or keep it for another 5-8 years for a very honeyed style.
ABOUT: Charles Hours’ (pronounced ‘oors’) vineyards are in Monein, in Jurancon, a wine appellation in the foothills of the Pyrénées, near Pau. The domaine was created in 1775 but Charles took the reins in 1983. Nowadays, Charles and daughter Marie are in charge of 16 hectares, producing dry white and sweet Jurancon wines from the Petit and Gros Manseng grape varieties. All of their vines are trained high at 2.5 metres to prevent damage from the spring frosts in this region, and on average, the vines are over 20 years old. The wines are delicious, distinctive and well worth seeking out!
