Land and Life
A land of exception, a great wine-growing terroir, unique, shaped by a strong history and geology
An amphitheatre
of vineyards
The Guirardel winery is set in a landscape of gentle hills facing the mountains. An amphitheatre of vineyards surrounded by woodland, where ancient oaks alternate with pines and where grapevines and fruit trees converse and cohabit in perfect harmony.
Over the centuries this traditional polyculture has shaped an authentic landscape reflecting an outstanding natural ecosystem.
But the secret of this land is to be found deeper down: the soil and subsoil are the result of a complex geology where the earth was pushed up, folded and reshaped when the Pyrenees were formed.
Our vines grow in a robust clay soil covered in pebbles swept along by streams and glaciers. Below this soil lies Jurançon puddingstone, a mixture of pebbles and flinty gravel interspersed with sandstone, marl and clay.
The land and the climate work together beautifully, producing superb white wines of great depth bursting with light, energy and minerality.
Here...our land
is alive
The Guirardel estate has always adopted farming methods that preserve the landscape, its authenticity and its ecosystems. This vision continues today; far from being an ideology, it is rooted in the common sense typical of traditional farmers, which rejects certifications and avoids all forms of dogmatism.
It is an approach based on polyculture, agro-forestry and nurturing the living soil, and which sets great store by prophylactics (protecting and strengthening plants and the soil rather than treating and repairing them).
Guirardel’s living soil is constantly turned, aerated and fertilised by the army of earthworms that live in it.
The soil is not ploughed; a plant cover sown in the autumn protects it from weeds, drying out and erosion, facilitates water absorption and then transforms into organic matter once it has decomposed. It’s also a luxury habitat for underground life, which can work day and night, even in summer!
« This perfect symbiosis between earth and sky imbues Guirardel’s wines with a kind of primal beauty. »
A great wine comes from fine grapes.
Planted on Guirardel’s fairly steep, well-drained south-facing hillsides, the estate’s two varietals—Petit Manseng and Gros Manseng—gaze peacefully at the Pyrenees.
Their vegetative cycle takes place gently because we like to let time do its work. The vines evolve at their own pace, supported by painstaking work done by hand. We protect them, in tiny doses, with a range of solutions based on organic farming methods, the science of bio-control, and our knowledge of agro-forestry and agro-biology.
Less is more
To transition from outstanding grapes to a refined white wine, we do things in carefully planned stages.
The first entails choosing the date of the harvest. For days on end, we walk up and down the vineyards to taste and analyse the berries. The pulp must be rich, full-flavoured and aromatic, the skin mature, the pips loose.
The grapes are then harvested by hand and carefully transported to the vat room.
When it arrives, the whole bunches are slowly and gently pressed to ensure that the wine’s aromas are as refined as possible. The long-awaited precious juice is collected in small vats, which we cool until the day after the harvest. The juice is protected from oxydation and clarified, and the natural fermentation process can now begin.
The wines are then transferred to 400-litre barrels and cellared for 12 to 16 months depending on the vineyard and vintage.
Brilliant minerality
Guirardel expresses an incomparable, luminous minerality that reflects the nearby Pyrenees. Its great freshness, its fruity notes and its hint of florality give it a sharply defined, radiant elegance. Its multiple facets and impressive presence will delight anyone who loves white wine.
