DOMAINE COUSTARRET

Information

Description

My family estate, which extends over 6 hectares, is the fruit of 7 generations of work and passion. 7 generations of experience!... A strong testimony of perseverance and traditions.
The house, typical of Béarnaise residences, dates from 1842 and was built by one of my great-grandfathers. However, the oldest writings date back to around 1715, and the vineyard is already mentioned there. It seems that at that time, the only existing vineyard in the territory of Lasseube was here.

My first years as a winemaker were devoted to rebuilding the estate, which then only had 2 hectares of mixed farming. Little by little, I restored the buildings and expanded the vineyard. Organic farming and then biodynamics emerged as a natural choice for my vines, in accordance with my values.
Biodynamics orients living things according to ancestral practices in symbiosis with the richness and balance of nature. It requires a deep understanding and great respect for natural cycles, almost a 6th Sense....

My wines reflect the unique terroir that shapes them. The clay-limestone soils, located near the mountain, give my wines a natural balance and liveliness that highlight the fruit. I offer a range of wines in the Jurançon appellation, scrupulously respecting the specifications of this appellation, as well as a more creative range, guided by what nature gives me each year. I produce natural wines, without any addition or filtering, in order to rediscover through them all the ancestrality and authenticity of our terroir.

Just like life, nature imposes its own rules. I chose to embrace its demands with passion and determination to create wines that reflect the unique character of the terroir and the richness of natural aromas.

Geological and geographical characteristics

The vineyard plots are located on hillsides, facing south at 400 meters
of altitude (highest point of the appellation) over a radius of 1 km2. The diversity and geological richness of this place mean that the influences change from one plot to another.
The terroir is mainly clayey-loamy on its base then more or less composed of rolled pebbles (influence of glacial moraines). Tablecloths of pudding cross the middle of the hillsides. We find a significant diversity of pebbles: ferrous, schist, quartz, flysch.

In order not to disturb and unbalance the veins of the terroir, I chose to plant in the direction of the slope (up to 40% in places). However, climatic conditions of mountain and oceanic influence require increasingly technical work, increasing constraints and the already very high risk factor.


The vine

The 5 native grape varieties (Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu, Camaralet de Lasseube and Lauzet) are spread across the entire estate with Manseng dominating.

I am helped by a small team of local seasonal workers and my mother during the different seasons of the year for pruning, green work (very important and very dense period between disbudding and trellising from mid-April to early July) and the harvest.
This manual work is essential to the quality and high standards that I want for my vines and grapes.

Work in the cellar

I guide without intervening too much, letting my natural yeasts express themselves. I prefer a minimalist approach while being attentive, vigilant and caring.
Sulphites are used very little and are non-existent for certain vintages, thus respecting the expression and typicality of the wine.

I work mainly in stainless steel vats to allow the varietal aromatics to fully express themselves. I also use wood (400 liter barrels), a stoneware amphora and very soon a jar will complete the containers intended to receive the juices.

I take the lunar calendar into account to choose the bottling date. I think the moon has a strong influence on the balance of the wine, its clarification, its stability and its quality.

Appellation

Jurançon sec AOP

Région viticole

Sud-Ouest

Country

France

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Production mode

Year of certification

2020-01-01 00:00:00

Quality approach

None

Packaging

Glass bottle

Product type

Sweet and liqueur wine

Sparkling wine

Still wine

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Distribution networks

Current customer(s) type

Café / Hotel / Restaurant

Caviste

Détaillant Bio

Grossiste

Importateur

Sommelier

Current countries

Allemagne

Belgique

France

Martinique

Royaume-Uni

Suisse

Suède

États-Unis

Type of target customer(s)

Cafe / Hotel / Restaurant

Wine merchant

Importer

Sommelier

Target country(ies)

South Africa

Spain

Japan

Latvia

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Monaco

Norway

Portugal

Qatar

Romania

United Kingdom

Singapore

Swiss

UNITED STATES

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Website

Visit the Earl coustarret website

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Main contact

First name

Sebastien

Name

BORDENAVE COUSTARRET

Function

Vigneron(ne)