Appellation
Jurançon
Identity card
RegionalAOPWhiteSweet
South West France · Recognised on 8 December 1936
Key points
- "Jurançon" alone is the sweet wine; the dry one is labelled "sec".
- Hand-picked, in successive passes except for the dry wine.
- Sweet: at most 40 hl/ha, at least 14% natural alcohol; dry since 1975.
Grape varieties
WhiteSweet
Accessory varieties: Camaralet de Lasseube, Courbu, Petit Courbu, Lauzet
The Mansengs: over half the vines, and the majority of any blend
Vendanges tardives: Petit and Gros Manseng only
Production rules
40
hl/ha
Maximum yield
14
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
4,000
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Vendanges tardives: at least until 1 June of the second year after harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 96 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 46 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 105 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Hilltop slopes of the Pyrenean foothills, often steep
- Soils: Pudding stone, flysch, molasse: clayey, stony soils
- Climate: Wet; a warm, dry foehn wind in spring and autumn
Wine style
- liveliness
- great freshness
- fruity, floral when young
- dried fruit with age
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
26 May 2025
Arrêté du 26 mai 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Jurançon » (JORF du 29 mai 2025, texte n°34, tel que cité par le texte homologué lui-même ; publié au Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'agriculture le 12 juin 2025). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 8 décembre 1936.
Labelling terms
- "Sec": compulsory for the dry wine, right after the name
- "Vendanges tardives": grapes picked from 2 November
- Vintage compulsory for vendanges tardives
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Jurançon »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Reference bookWine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1,368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours— Allen Lane / Ecco (HarperCollins)
At the foot of the Pyrenees, south and west of Pau, the white appellation of Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. A single cahier des charges governs three profiles here: dry, moelleux (sweet, the base denomination, for which Petit Manseng grapes must reach at least 247 grams of sugar per litre of must) and "vendanges tardives" (late harvest), reserved for the two Manseng varieties alone.
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Jurançon
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