Many of you have already fallen in love with the Domaine de Ménard Cuvée Marine from the Cotes de Gascogne which is a blend of Colombard,  Ugni Blanc, ane Gros Menseng that makes a perfect sipper. The Domaine Cauhapé Chant des Vignes Jurançon Sec is incredibly similar to the Menard but a step up in intensity and complexity and it’s featured on sale for $12.59 down from $14.99 and a must try for you dry white wine lovers.

The Jurançon is in Southwest France close to the Pyranees (yellow/green on the map). There are two different styles of white wine produced in this region – Jurançon, a celebrated sweet wine, and Jurançon Sec, a dry white. The vineyards are nestled away in sunny hillsides, where the ocean, mountains and southern climate make this a unique wine appellation.

Jurançon wine also occupies a unique and opportune place in French history. As the story goes, when the future King Henry IV was christened in 1553, his infant lips were touched with a drop of Jurançon wine, which was said to give him lifelong vigor and prosperity. King Henry was given many nicknames such as Henri le Grand (Henry the great), le bon roi Henri (Good King Henry), and le vert galant which translates to enterprising man despite his age, or what today we might call a player. The King was a well-known philanderer who fathered many children by multiple mistresses.

The King made the Jurançon wines famous with his christening and when the poet Colette, in the 1940’s , called the sweet wines made in the Jurançon from Gros or Petit Manseng a “séduction du vert galant” her reference to the King was obvious and forever cemented the history of these wines with a virile and powerful womanizer.  She was also quoted as saying “I was a girl when I met this prince [Jurançon wine]; aroused, imperious, treacherous, as all great seducers are”. Colette was a popular poet celebrity of the time and had a scandalous reputation in Paris for having many lovers . Many winemakers in the Jurançon used her notoriety and her quotes about the wines as marketing tactic of promoting their wines as sexy and enticing with brochures and posters all around France.

While these posters are long gone and the history of the debaucherous King isn’t proudly touted like it once was, Domaine Cauhapé still describes their sweet and dry wines as pure pleasure. This is a dry white blend of Gros Manseng and Camaralet.  It has an intense bouquet of herbs, exotic fruits, white pepper, and fennel. On the palate it is fruity and generous with a crisp and dry finish and it definitely brings a lot of pleasure.