Clos Larrouyat

The Jurançon reference

It is undeniable, Maxime Salharang is recognized for his work in biodynamics, it is clearly one of the references of Jurançon. It is in homage to his grandfather that he takes over 3 hectares in 2011, since his work excels in the world of natural wine, in particular on his appellation. Wines of extreme accuracy, fine and powerful at the same time. To discover on Epi-curious!

The story of the Clos Larrouyat

The Clos Larrouyat is located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Jurançon appellation. Perched facing the Pyrenean chain, the vines of this magnificent appellation benefit from the protection of the Pic du Midi d'Ossau (mountain culminating at 2884 meters of elevation). Local grape varieties, such as Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng, personalize the character of dry, and sweet wines.
The story of Clos de Larrouyat is about a place, more precisely about soil. These lands are classified as a Jurançon controlled designation of origin, located on a unique soil of tablecloths and pebbles in the Ossau Valley, owned by Roger Larrouyat.
After obtaining his license in physics and chemistry, Maxime Salharang, Roger Larrouyat's maternal grandson, gives a whole new importance to the world of wine and decides to continue his studies in oenology in Bordeaux. After the death of his grandfather, Maxime decides to pay homage to him by recovering his land. In 2010, he started working at the Domaine de Souch, six kilometers away from Pau, where he discovered organic farming, biodynamics and other natural methods related to wine. A huge change for the winegrower with a degree in chemistry! He will now use his natural methods to produce natural wines.
It was in 2011 that Maxime planted his first vines, for a total of 3 hectares today. His partner Lucie Salharang, daughter of winegrowers from Entre-Deux-Mers and a mechanical design engineer, joined him in his adventure. That same year, Maxime stopped working with the Domaine des Souch to devote himself fully to his vineyard. This is how the Clos de Larrouyat was born by the winemaker Maxime Salharang.

The Jurançon: an exceptional soil!

The Jurançon is mainly known for its sweet wine but also exists in dry and both hold a controlled designation of origin. The characteristics of these soils are similar to those of the Pyrenees chain. Shaped by torrents, we find on these soils both transported pebbles and limestone pebbles with a clayey upper level.
The soil of Clos Larrouyat is mainly made up of clay and rolled pebbles, debris from the formation of the Pyrenees 40 million years ago. It also has the privilege of being located on Triassic soil (rock 250 million years old) making it unique since it is the only one to be located on this soil. Thus providing the most profound, digestible and fresh wines of the appellation.
Regarding the autochthonous grape varieties grown on this soil, they are the Petit Manseng, the Gros Manseng, the Lauzet, the Camaralet de Lasseube, the Petit Courbu and the Courbu Blanc.
For Clos Larrouyat, Maxime produces his natural wines mainly from the Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng grape varieties, as well as Camaralet in smaller quantities.
A fabulous soil, recognized for its potential, which Maxime Salharang manages to highlight with his natural wines from Jurançon, in particular thanks to the cultivation of Biodynamics.

From chemistry to biodynamic!

After working at the Domaine des Souch for several years, Maxime discovered much more natural methods to take care of the vines while respecting the environment and following the lunar cycles as well as herbal tea-based treatments in particular. This is called biodynamic. Although Maxime has a degree in chemistry, it is towards the natural that he decides to engage in order to exploit healthier wines, closer to the soil and to the truth. Natural wines.
Working biodynamically, is to say as naturally as possible, this is the new approach adopted by the winemaker couple. For the maintenance of the vines, Lucie trained in animal traction, with the aim of buying a horse later for ploughing. Indeed, for Lucie, eco-grazing is essential for the maintenance and enrichment of the plots. “The place of the living is essential”, according to the words of the winegrower.
Currently, a dozen Ouessant sheep graze through the vines from November to March cleaning the soil and also producing fertilizer. We can therefore claim that the two winegrowers cultivate the link with the living to implement the soil of Jurançon through their natural wines.
The vines are harvested manually with a bucket and brought directly to the press without any other manipulation. The goal is to intervene as little as possible and keep the grapes intact.
The work and thoughtful application of Maxime and Lucie's cultivation methods will soon make Clos Larrouyat a future great in the appellation.

The Clos Larrouyat wines

Excellent in their profession, Maxime and Lucie produce natural wines of delicate freshness, minerality and intensity rare for the Jurançon appellation. The couple highlights the acidity and tension of their wines, revealing an incomparable power.
Comète 2020 is a white wine made from Petit Manseng (75%) supplemented with Camaralet (25%). This dry Jurançon represents the top-of-the-range cuvée of Clos Larrouyat. Remarkably long, combining purity and finesse. The salinity of the appellation brings even more complexity to the wine.
Another dry Jurançon is also highlighted, Météore 2020, a white wine made with 60% Gros Manseng and 40% Petit Manseng. Aged in barrels of several wines for more than six months, the grape varieties are vinified separately and then, finally, blended before bottling. It is a benchmark of biodynamics, concocted by Maxime and Lucie thanks to their rigorous work.
Osmose 2019 is a specific bottle since it was produced by Maxime and Bastien, a longtime friend. As promised, it's done, the two longtime friends had this common desire to create a common cuvée, a cuvée to share. The collaboration of these two college friends then gave birth to the Osmose cuvée. A concentrated Syrah of freshness and spices, to share with friends or family.
Healthy wines that perfectly enhance the Jurançon soil, to be found on the Epi-curieux.com website.