Jurancon Marie Kattalin Domaine de Souch 2016 500ml

Marie Kattalin Jurancon Domaine de Souch 500ml, Biodynamic, Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, elegant and absolutely delicious. Made using the local varieties of Petit and Gros Manseng and some Courbu, her sweet wines distinguish themselves with the intensity of the acid backbone. I fact they can be drunk with almost any course savoury or sweet and the wines never cloy at all so most are produced in a standard 75 cl bottle because at 12% abv, you can very easily finish off a bottle of Souch in one sitting. If you like dessert wine, i urge you to invest in a bottle of Yvonne’s wine, often we site wine as unique but hers genuinely is both in the story that paved the way to their production and also in their sheer sublime quality. Marie Kattalin is named after Yvonne’s Grand Daughter and is aged in old oak barrels given to Yvonne by the late great, Didier Dageneau. It is has more intensity but still that freshness is breathtaking.

The story of Madame de Souch is a sad and at the same time inspiring one.

In the 1970s Yvonne and Rene Hegoburu found the ruins of an old house at the top of the hill of Laroin and decided to renovate it in order to retire there. Later, they retired together with the ambition of planting a few acres of vineyards in the Jurançon appellation. Tragically René died prematurely very soon after they moved in and before they could realise their dream. Yvonne decided to preserve her husbands memory and 30 years later, her stunning sweet wines grace the tables of almost every Michelin star restaurant in Europe - despite being in her 90s! She discovered biodynamics in the 1990s and was certified in 1994. She keeps her vineyards free from contamination with surrounding woodland. All the harvesting still takes place by hand, and Yvonne shows no sign of slowing down!