
Typical and rare grape varieties
Cauhapé’s wines express the specificity of Jurançon grape varieties. Petit manseng is our main grape variety. It is a vine with small bunches of grapes under the leaves. The thick skin is a great asset. It allows us to push the harvest very far and to obtain a very high level of maturity. Gros manseng and courbu bring finesse and fruity aromas. For several years, Cauhapé has also been exploring the forgotten grape varieties camaralet and lauzet, which have ennobled the dry Jurançons, producing wines that are more authentic and expressive than ever.
Our conception of wine
Aware that the earth is not enough to produce great wines, that it also needs "breath and spirit", Henri Ramonteu has succeeded in bringing together earth and sky. The wine coalesces the character of a climate, the influence of a land, the expressions of a grape variety, and the man’s hand and instinct. In other words, the vineyard expresses a soil through a history, a way of life, a culture, and a grape variety. This is the true definition of a "wine of terroir".
Grapes reach their fullness: The grape harvest of the extreme
The influence of natural elements, the omnipresent hand of man, and an exceptional terroir are the keywords for the magic to work.
In December, the grapes passerille (the French term for air-drying to increase sugar concentration). They are withered by the autumnal sun, waffled by the frost, and candied by the weather.
From this dehydration and supreme concentration flows a juice with unprecedented flavors; the beginnings of an exceptional cuvée.
To be close to perfection, to perpetuate the mystery, and to take a place in the dreams of the amateurs.
The Jurançon of yesterday, today and tomorrow
It is the sweet wine that has made the history of Jurançon. It can be as fresh, savory, and rich as the greatest wines in the world. Nowadays, however, sweetness in a wine is less popular. At the moment, wines that express finesse and freshness are more appreciated. Real wine lovers are looking for wines with high authenticity. In the past 15 years, dry Jurançon has arisen. It is more difficult to produce, but the high potential of our "rare" grape varieties, gros and petit manseng, camaralet, courbu, and lauzet, have enabled us to produce dry white wines with great character.
It is the advent of the dry Jurançon, "tomorrow’s wine!”