Clos Larrouyat Jurançon Sec Comète 2022

Comète is a blend of 75% Petit Manseng and 25% Camaralet. The latter variety is hardly seen in Jurançon vineyards today, although it speaks volumes that many of the appellation’s more progressive domaines are invested. Maxime and Lucie Salharang’s Camaralet (which covers 10% of the vineyard) brings spicy/citrus cut to the juicier Manseng. The Manseng itself is drawn from a small canton of the vineyards facing southwest. Salharang explains that these vines deliver more power, and he uses only the first press juices that bring the most purity and finesse.

In the cellar, fermentation is spontaneous, and the wines are raised in old oak barrels (purchased from Smith-Haut Lafitte). In cooler years, Maxime stirs his lees to promote depth and texture. The wines always pass through malolactic conversion, which is needed to balance the extraordinary acidity gained in this cool terroir. Added sulphur is kept under 40 mg/L, and the wines are seldom fined before bottling. The 2022 is the most potent Comète we have yet shipped, yet even so, there’s a refreshing spine of racy freshness offsetting the wine’s grainy texture and juicy orange and white peach-scented fruit. Unfortunately, we have very little.