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home > tasting notes

Ramonteu “Domaine Cauhapé” 2001 Jurançon “Symphonie de Novembre” (Southwest France) – Absolutely, stunningly gorgeous. Honeyed peach and cinnamon-spiced baked winter apple with a creamy texture and a long, balanced finish. Delicious.

Back in the early days of my wine addiction, I lived pretty close to Brookline Liquor Mart, then one of the best stores in the area thanks to its close ties to Classic Wine Imports. I remember being frequently enticed by the wines of Domaine Cauhapé, but often put off by the (then, to me) high prices.

It seems, however, that prices haven’t gone up much. Which is good, because my enthusiasm for the wines of Jurançon was re-energized by a recent article in Saveur magazine. By sheer coincidence, I ran across this lusciously sticky wine in a store I rarely frequent. I’ll be going back for more. Much more.

Jurançon is mostly known, at least in the U.S., for its dessert wines, yet it makes a full range from dry to off-dry to exquisitely sweet. The appellation permits the otherwise-insignificant grapes petit manseng, gros manseng, courbu, camarelet and lauzet (no, I’ve never heard of those last three either), though the last two are limited to 15% of the blend, and in practice the two mansengs represent almost everything you’ll find in these wines; the “Symphonie de Novembre” is a petit manseng.

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Copyright ©2005 Thor Iverson.