Jurancon Flashcards
Is Jurancon situated in the foothills of the Pyrenees or on the flat plain below?
Foothills
What altitude does Jurancon sit at?
Around 300 m altitude
producing dry wines and a range of sweet white wines from the white varieties
____ ____ and ___ _____and other local varieties.
Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng
The wines produced are
- 70 per cent ____-____ and _____
- 30 per cent ___
medium-sweet or sweet
dry
What are the three styles of Jurancon wine?
- Jurançon Vendanges Tardives (sweet),
- Jurançon (typically medium-sweet)
- Jurançon Sec (dry).
TASTING NOTE:
Jurancon Vendange Tardives
Jurancon AOC
Jurançon Vendanges Tardives AOC is sweet and is typically very good to outstanding in quality and mid-price to premium in price.
- intense aromas and flavours of lemon and mango, high acidity
high alcohol - top end of medium and high with a full body.
Jurançon AOC is
- medium-sweet and is typically good to very good in quality and inexpensive to mid-priced.
THE GROWING ENVIRONMENT AND GRAPE GROWING - Jurancon
What is Jurancon’s climate and average rainfall?
Jurançon has a mild, humid climate,
high annual rainfall, about 1,200 mm,
which is distributed throughout the year and can affect flowering and fruit set and the period
of harvest.
What benefit does planting vineyards on slopes considering the high average rainfall of Jurancon?
Vineyards are planted on slopes for good drainage to offset these issues
The best sites are _____ and_____-____ facing for maximum ______ ______ thereby aiding _____
south and south-west facing
sunlight interception,
ripening
The region is also strongly influenced by the presence of the _______ as this gives rise to a ____ ____.
Pyrenees
Fohn wind
What effect does a Fohn wind have?
This hot and dry wind blows in spring and autumn, about one day in three, drying the air and ventilating the canopy (and bunches in autumn), as well as boosting temperature.
What effect does the Fohn wind have on Jurancon specifically?
The heat and the wind help to produce over-ripe berries for the sweet wines.
Given its altitude, Jurancon has a risk of spring frosts.
what controls do growers use to mitigate this risk?
The budding zone is trained well above the ground to mitigate this risk.
what type of soils does Jurancon have?
Soils are a mixture of limestone, sand, clay and stones
Grapes are picked by hand and, for the sweet wines, in a series of selective pickings, raising cost
True or false?
True
Harvest comes in a series of selective pickings, this can be broken up into three selections.
when might these selections take place and why? what would growers be looking for?
The first selection is in October, mainly for dry wines but also some sweet wines for early consumption.
The second and third selections (November to December) are used for progressively sweeter wines. These last two selections are carried out after over-ripe grapes have been dried on the vine (passerillage).
Explain Passerillage and how it takes place in Jurancon
when over-ripe grapes have been dried on the vine (passerillage).
The drying process is due to the effect of prolonged time hanging on the vine, the autumn sunshine and the wind
Petit Manseng
This variety is ____ _____ and hence prone to ____ ____.
It is ___ to ___ ______ has thick skins and is resistant to ____ ____ __, which makes it suitable for
late harvesting.
Early budding
spring frosts
mid to late ripening,
botrytis bunch rot
Why is Petit Manseng suitable for sweet wines?
It is moderately aromatic and retains its high acidity, making it particularly suitable for the production of balanced sweet wines.
Petit Manseng gains very high sugars leading to growers not caring too much about picking dates as they know they are going to reach high alcohol easily, something they are looking for more than anything else.
True or false?
False
The high potential alcohol means that producers must be precise about the picking date to balance the goals of full flavour ripeness, acidity and potential alcohol.
Gros Manseng
Gros Manseng shares the characteristics
of Petit Manseng but has higher yields and
usually less aromatic concentration and
flavour intensity. It is principally used for dry
wines.
True or False?
True
For the three styles of Jurancon wine, what % of either Petit Manseng of Gros Manseng must be used?
All three must be made with a minimum of 50 per cent of Petit and/or Gros Manseng,
though in practice these two varieties are used exclusively for an overwhelming majority of the wines
what is Jurancon Sec’s sweetness level and maximum yields
dry,
maximum yield 60 hL/ha
What is Jurancon sweetness level, minimum residual sugar and maximum yield?
a medium sweet wine,
minimum of 40g/l residual sugar,
maximum yield 40 hL/ha
What is Jurancon Vendanges Tardives sweetness level, minimum residual sugar and maximum yield?
When must the grapes be picked? be picked?
a sweet wine,
minimum 55 g/L residual sugar but typically much higher,
no enrichment allowed,
maximum yield 40 hL/ha,
Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng exclusively.
Grapes for Jurançon Vendanges Tardives may not be
picked before 2 November
what winemaking techniques would high quality sweet wines made with Petit Manseng be used?
h Petit Manseng are typically fermented in barriques
and aged in them for 12–18months.
Top quality wines typically use old oak, though new oak is occasionally used. This adds complexity to the wines and increases the cost of production.
Malolactic conversion typically does not happen as the pH is too low and the acidity too high. This retains acidity and preserves the primary fruit flavours
what winemaking techniques would be used for a high quality dry wine made in Jurancon?
high quality dry wines may include a small proportion of Petit Manseng. These are typically aged on the lees often in stainless steel.
With a marginal amount of exports, where are Jurancon’s wines sold within France?
Sales are divided almost equally between direct sales, supermarkets and the hospitality sector,
