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History

Clos Lapeyre is located 4 kilometres south-west of the village Jurançon in the Chapelle de Rousse district. Jean Larrieu purchased the estate in 1920 which had a small area of vines. Later his son Marcel continued with the family's farm growing strawberries, breeding cows and cultivating 3.5 hectares of vines, the grapes were then sold to the local cooperative at Gan. Between 1972 and 1975 he planted 5 hectares, from which 3 hectares were planted on terraces. These terraces were amongst the first planted in Jurançon

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In 1985 a new chapter started, after completing studies in oenology and viticulture, Jean-Bernard Larrieu representing the 3rd generation, decided to build a small cellar with the help of his father and bottle his own wines, Clos Lapeyre was born. The cellar was extended in 1989-1990 and again in 1994 to increase storage space for the oak barrels. Over the same period he replanted the farm's land with vines, about one hectare at a time, to reach a vineyard of 10 hectares by early 2000. In 2004, the estate was increased to 17 hectares following the purchase of Domaine de Nays-Labassère, a well situated estate of 7 hectares planted with old vines. In 2002, as Jean-Bernard wanted to make highly expressive wines which reveal the Jurançon terroir and express the local spirit, he started converting Clos Lapeyre to organic farming and succeeded by obtaining an "organic certification" in 2005. Since the certification Jean-Bernard has gone a step further by implementing biodynamic farming.

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Vineyards

Clos Lapeyre's 17 hectares of vines are situated on the upper slopes at an altitude of 250 to 350 metres, with different exposures varying from south to south-east and south-west. Because of the steepness of the slopes, 9 hectares of vines are situated on terraces of a height of 6-8 metres with some in an amphitheatre formation. On terraces vine plantation is low at about 1000 vines per hectare. Clos Lapeyre has about 60% of its vineyard planted with Petit Manseng and the remainder is planted with Gros Manseng and some Petit Courbu planted in the 1940's. Throughout its recent history, the estate has been busy replanting parcels at different stages with the highest part of the Clos Lapeyre replanted between 1982 and 1984. Between 1991 and 1993, another two parcels were planted with Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. The magnificent "amphitheatre of Ducos" set on terraces was planted between 1994 and 1998, exclusively with Petit Manseng. Recently they have planted some Courbu and Camaralet vines chosen by massale selection. The average yield per hectare on the estate has been reduced over the years, with the conversation to organic vine growing and improved management of the vineyard over time, the yields have dropped from 42 hl/ha in 2001 to 30 hl/ha in 2007. These low yields which concentrate the grapes have improved the quality of the wines and expression of the terroir, resulting in 2 to 3 kilograms of Petit Manseng being needed to obtain one litre of juice when for normal grapes it is 1.3 kilograms.

 

Regarding the soils, as the estate is located in the heart of the appellation, the native rock is composed of the famous chalky limestone conglomerate of Jurançon. The topsoil is made up of thin layers of sandy clay, silt and alluvium deposits with its famous limestone pebbles, locally known as "poudingue de Jurançon". These pebbles often lay on top of the soil sometimes in localised patches notably on the southern slopes. The diversity of the land, with its numerous geographical faults and important leaching, gives a great variety of different soils which in turn demand different cultivation methods. In order to control each parcel of vines differently, in 1999 Jean-Bernard mapped out all the different soils at Clos Lapeyre according to the most ancient method "la Méthode Hérody". By assessing each surface and the depth of each soil and analysing soil samples, they divided the 12 hectares of vineyard into 15 different types of soils (amongst which some are inevitably very similar). This mapping enables the estate to adapt the work in the vineyard with a "parcellaire" (parcel) approach, maintaining the health of the soils and vines in order to maximise the expression of Clos Lapeyre's terroir in the most natural way possible which includes biodynamic farming.

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Winemaking

The estate produces 3 tiers of wines, from early drinking to Super Premium in both Jurançon Sec and Jurançon appellations. For the dry whites, depending on the vintage and the physiological maturity of the grains, the grapes may be de-stemmed or pressed as whole bunches, pre-fermentation skin maceration for 5-6 days may be done. The wine making process is adapted to each wine, some will be fermented and aged in oak barrels and for some the malolactic fermentations will not be done to keep the natural acidity. Here is a summary of the various Premium wines produced by Jean-Bernard:

 

"Vitatge Vielh" (dry) meaning old vines, comes from a 1.80 hectare parcel of 50 year old vines. The blend is about 60% Gros Manseng, 30% Petit Manseng and 10% Petit Corbu. The wine is fermented in oak barrels of 225 and 600 litres (none new), aged for a year in barrels and aged in stainless steel vats for a further 6 months before bottling. Pale gold in colour, muscaty notes from slightly "passerillage" grapes, dried fruit and brioche. Beautiful freshness on the palate. An elegant wine with well integrated oak flavours, long finish. Medium term cellaring.

 

"La Magendia" (sweet) meaning the "Best" in Occitan, is a late harvest "Vendanges Tardives" made from 100% Petit Manseng. It is barrel fermented and then aged in oak for at least a year. A perfect example of the "passerillage" method requiring 3 to 5 pickings, the residual sugar is about 90g/l. A complex nose of sweet tropical fruits and honey, well balanced by the freshness from the terroir and the grapes which carries through the long finish.

 

The following 2 wines are only produced if the vintage conditions are at their optimum, these are medium to long term cellaring wines.

"Montoulan" (dry) is a parcel planted in high density local 500 metres to the west of Clos Lapeyre, the first vintage was 2006. It is produced with "selection massale" grapes, the blend is 70% Petit Manseng, 15% Camaralet and 15% Corbu. The wine is fermented in oak barrels, aged for a year in barrels with malolactic fermentations and then aged a further 6 months in stainless steel vats before bottling. Complex exotic fruits on the nose, full-bodied, very well balanced on the palate between the richness and acidity. .

 

"Vent Balaguèr" (sweet) named after the warm southerly winds. A late harvest "Vendanges Tardives" made from 100% Petit Manseng. Another perfect example of the "passerillage" method usually picked late in December weather permitting, the residual sugar is about 130g/l. For this exceptional cuvées, following the harvest the grapes are laid in trays to perfect the process of “passerillage”. These trays are laid outside in the sun during the sunny days and brought inside the cellar in damp and rainy days. Besides dehydrating, the grapes change in colour, turning from a golden-yellow to russet and finally brown. Such is the concentration that about 4-5 kilograms of grapes are need to produce just one litre of juice. The wine is barrel fermented and then aged in oak barrels for up to 2 years. A very complex nose of gingerbread, fruit paste, honey, spices, very ripe apricot and confit orange zest. Richness and concentration balanced by a superb lemony acidity on a lingering finish.

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Inside information

The Juracon vineyards date back over 2,000 years when the Romans settled in the area. The first recorded transaction of Jurançon wine dates back to 998 by the Abbaye de Saint-Vincent at Lucq-de-Béarn. In the 15th century, the largest estates are in the hands of the Lords and the Viscounts of Béarn who settled in Pau in 1460, this is the beginning of the golden age of the vineyards of Jurançon. In 1538, the grape's name "Mansenc", known as Manseng today, appeared and also the use of the name Jurançon came into place as King Henry II of Navarre purchased some vines. In 1553, the future King of France Henry IV, born in Pau, was Baptised with Jurançon wine. As early as the 16th century, the princes of Béarn and the Parliament of Navarre introduced the notion of "cru" depending on the quality of the parcels. This was the first attempt of classification in France, long before all other vineyards to preserve the authenticity of the wines of Jurançon. Towards the end of the 19th century the majority of the vineyard had disappeared due to the phylloxera, but since the early 20thcentury the vineyards are being replanted and steadily expanding. 

 

Vineyard
The appellation stretches 40 kilometres from a south-east to a north-west orientation. The 1,000 hectares of vineyards are situated at the foothills of the Pyrenees between the river Gave de Pau to the north and Gave d’Oloron to the south. The vineyards are often planted facing south to south-west on very steep slopes providing good drainage, they are sometimes set on terraces and even in an amphitheatre formation at an altitude of 250 - 400 metres. The ideal vineyards are situated towards the top of the hills, facing south in an amphitheatre formation which helps to retain the heat. Jurançon's ideal terroir was created during the geological formation of the Pyrenees, which was the result of the collision between the micro-continent Iberia and the southwestern part of the European Plate between 25 to 100 million years ago. After the uplift and reaching an altitude of about 3,400 metres at its pick, the chain experienced intense erosion and glacier activity modifying the surrounding landscape. This developed 3 types of terroirs in the appellation. To the South, the sub soil is derived from flysch and limestone (marine sedimentation) deposited before the formation of the Pyrenees. In the center, the soil is composed of limestone pebbles, locally known as "poudingue de Jurançon" and gravel deposited by rivers and creeks during the formation and erosion of the Pyrenees. These limestone pebbles often cover soft structured clayey-sandy and clayey-siliceous soils and concentrated patches of pebbles can be found in some areas. To the north, the terroir is clayey siliceous with some gravel and pebbles.

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