Clos Larrouyat

The benchmark of Jurançon

Maxime Salharang is recognised for his work in biodynamics: he is clearly one of the benchmarks of Jurançon. In tribute to his grandfather, he took over 3 hectares in 2011, and his work has excelled in the world of natural wine ever since. Wines of extreme accuracy, both fine and powerful. Discover them on Epi-curieux!

The story of Clos Larrouyat

Clos Larrouyat lies in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Jurançon appellation. Perched facing the Pyrenees, the vines enjoy the protection of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau (2,884 metres). Local grapes such as Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng shape the character of the dry, semi-sweet and sweet wines.
The story of the clos is that of land classified AOC Jurançon, on a unique terroir of alluvial layers and pebbles, owned by Roger Larrouyat.
After a degree in physics and chemistry, his grandson Maxime Salharang fell in love with wine and went on to study oenology in Bordeaux. When his grandfather died, he decided to pay tribute by taking over his land. In 2010 he began working at Domaine de Souch, six kilometres from Pau, where he discovered organic farming, biodynamics and other natural methods. A huge change for this chemistry graduate!
In 2011 Maxime planted his first vines, reaching 3 hectares today. His partner Lucie Salharang, daughter of Entre-deux-Mers winegrowers and a mechanical design engineer, joined him in the adventure. That same year he left Domaine de Souch to devote himself fully to his vineyard: Clos Larrouyat was born.

Jurançon, an exceptional terroir!

Jurançon is best known for its sweet wine but also comes in dry, both under AOC. Shaped by mountain streams, the soils mix transported pebbles and limestone pebbles, with a clay upper layer.
The terroir of Clos Larrouyat consists mainly of clay and rolled pebbles, debris from the formation of the Pyrenees 40 million years ago. It also has the privilege of lying on Triassic soil (rock 250 million years old), which makes it unique and gives some of the deepest, most digestible and freshest wines of the appellation.
The native grapes of the terroir are Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng, Lauzet, Camaralet de Lasseube, Petit Courbu and Courbu Blanc. Maxime makes his natural wines mainly from Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, with a little Camaralet.

From chemistry to biodynamics!

At Domaine de Souch, Maxime discovered far more natural ways of caring for vines: following lunar cycles, treating with herbal teas… This is biodynamics. Despite his chemistry degree, he chose to commit to the natural path, for healthier wines closer to terroir and truth.
Lucie trained in animal traction, with the idea of buying a horse for ploughing. For her, eco-grazing is essential to maintaining and enriching the plots: "The place of living things is paramount."
Some ten Ouessant sheep graze among the vines from November to March, cleaning the soils and producing fertiliser.
The grapes are picked by hand, into buckets, and taken straight to the press without further handling: the aim is to intervene as little as possible and keep the fruit intact.

The cuvées of Clos Larrouyat

Maxime and Lucie make natural wines of delicate freshness, with minerality and intensity rare for the Jurançon appellation, highlighting acidity and tension.
Comète, from Petit Manseng (75%) and Camaralet (25%), is the clos's top dry Jurançon. Remarkably long, it combines purity and finesse, and the appellation's salinity adds further complexity.
Météore, another dry Jurançon, blends 60% Gros Manseng and 40% Petit Manseng. Aged for over six months in barrels of several wines, the grapes are vinified separately, then blended before bottling.
Osmose is a cuvée apart, made by Maxime and Bastien, a long-standing friend. The two university friends dreamed of creating a cuvée for sharing: here is a Syrah concentrated with freshness and spice, to share with friends or family.
Healthy wines that perfectly showcase the Jurançon terroir.