Posts Tagged Petit Manseng

Bearn-Basque Country

Following the death of her journalist husband, at the age of sixty, Yvonne Hegoburu, manager of Château de Viaud (Lalande de Pomerol), decided to plant vines on 6 hectares of her property in the south west of France Domaine de Souch in Laroin. She opted for a number of the area`s traditional grape varieties- Petit Manseng (70%), Gros Manseng (20%) and Courbu (10%).

Yvonne HegoburuYvonne planted her vines , on a site where vines had been planted from at least the 16th century. But in 1940 the vines were left to die, when the men went off to war, to Germany or into the Resistance. It was decided the slopes were too steep for even young women to cultivate.

She also embarked upon work of monumental proportions- 13,000 trellis posts made from trees cut down on the estate driven into terraces carved out by bulldozer. She also equipped herself with bladder-type pneumatic press, de-stemmer and temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. That was in 1985. The first harvest in 1990 was already very promising. Since 1994, the vineyard has been tented in line with the principles of biodynamic viticulture which exclude the use of any chemicals, pesticides or herbicides.

Yvonne Hegoburu

In just a few years, Domaine de Souch has acquired a reputation as one of the best in its appellation. Yvonne Hegoburu sees it as an intellectual initiative, almost a vocation; “Here in the South West of France, where the wind from spain mingles with the fragrances of the ocean, Yvonne Hegoburu does everything within her power to ensure her grapes are happy”. Taken from the “Vignerons Independants” – November 2001

Yvonne appeared in the famous wine documentari MondoVino, where she is quoted as saying, ‘I planted vines when my husband died. Ever since then, all this love inside me, I give it to the vines. I talk to them. I have an exchange with them’.

Upon tasting it become apparent that both grapes and wines are extremely grateful to her for all the “maternal” care she has given them.

Domaine de Souch
805 chemin de Souch
64110 Laroin
Tel: 05.59.06.27.22

Cuvee Marie Kattalin

Domaine de Souch MARIE KATTALIN Jurançon South West France 2004
Shimmering bronze in colour! Voluptuous nose with intense fragrances of citrus and flowers and yellow fruits confits (orange blossom, lemon, grapefruit, melon, quince, fishing, lychee, etc …) and delicious shades of vanilla. Fresh and clean. A rare sweet nectar! Great bottle! 100% Petit Manseng