Château Jolys Gros Manseng-Petit Manseng Blend Jurançon Sec 2007

Not far from the city of Pau lies the beautiful wine region of the Jurançon where wonderful white wines are produced. The gem of this area is the Petit Manseng grape. With its loose bunches, tiny berries and thick skin, this variety is suitable for raisining and producing great sweet wines. Gros Manseng and to a lesser extent, Courbu, are also grown. The vines are grown over an area of 800 hectares on the hillsides facing the Pyrénées Mountains. The average vineyard elevation is 1,200 feet and most are southfacing. The soils, deposited during the formation of the Pyrénées, are silicoclay and contain many round pebbles. The lay of the land is remarkably similar to the upper piedmont of Virginia. Spring weather, influenced by the mountains, can be cold and rainy. Due to the risk of spring frost, vines are trained high off the ground, which is unusual in France. The summers, influenced by the mild oceanic climate, bring consistent rainfall. In fact, Jurançon experiences rainfall similar to what we have in Virginia, 1,300mm of rain per year. The fall season, influenced by the hot southern climate, creates long Indian summers that enable the raisining of the grapes Chateau Jolys was set up in 1958 by Pierre-Yves Latrille and he was one of the first producers to bottle and market his own wine rather than use the co-operative. He has 32 hectares under vine  plus another 10 called Chateau de Jurque which have been run by his daughter Marion since 2000. A range of dry and sweet Jurancon wines are produced. Read less