The lost varieties of Southwest France

Plaimont is a union of producers that represents a significant proportion of all wines emanating from the Southwest of France: Plaimont produces 98% of wines from the Saint Mont appellation, 66% of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, 55% of Madiran and 30% of the Côtes-de-Gascogne. It is truly a powerhouse of this significant wine region, and a major supplier of wines to British multiple retailers.

However, it would be a mistake to think this ‘super-Cooperative’ was only concerned with volume. In fact, for over 40 years they have sought to protect indigenous and often forgotten grape varieties of the Southwest, specifically their appellations in the foothills of the Pyrenees, with research and special bottlings of rare varieties. Many of its members’ vineyards are small, with six or seven hectares of vines, and there are historic châteaux amongst its membership too, where wines are bottled under the château’s own name. It is an organisation very much led by the belief in terroir. As Head Winemaker and Managing Director, Olivier Bourdet-Pees, says, “Our wines’ genius stems from our terroirs and native grape varieties.”

During the 2020 Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ I met up with Olivier via Zoom for a masterclass tasting of 12 wines chosen to prove this concept. Olivier explained that in the 1950s, the top 20 grape varieties accounted for around 50% of French vineyard plantings. Today, the top 20 varieties account for 91% of vineyards, so diversity is undoubtedly being lost. He sees it as more important than ever to preserve historic local varieties and allow consumers to rediscover them, “just like they do with heritage tomatoes and ancient apple varieties,” he says.  Another big focus for Plaimont is ‘drinkability’, making wines that are balanced and therefore more approachable and food-friendly.

The first four red wines we tasted are based on the variety Manseng Noir, a truly forgotten variety. A single vine found, and at first mis-identified as a variant of Tannat, was later discovered through DNA analysis to be Manseng Noir, an old variety that was traditionally grown climbing up trees. It produced such low alcohol that eventually production stopped in favour of grapes like Tannat. Having established it was Manseng Noir, Plaimont began a programme of grafting in a nursery in 2002 and by 2010 had enough material to plant a small vineyard – which is unique in the world.

In fact there are 37 different ancient varieties in their conservatory vineyards, 12 of them the main focus for the moment as they are the most suitable in terms of yield and other factors for producing wines, but another 11 remain completely unidentified so far.

Wines of Côtes-de-Gascogne

Wines of Saint Mont

The next set of wine are from the Saint Mont appellation. It began with a mini-vertical of one of the top wines of Plaimont, from a very steep slope with a northern exposition. At one point around 2012 the authorities stopped the wines from carrying the Saint Mont appellation because of a ‘blanket ban’ on north-facing slopes that were considered incapable of ripening vines sufficiently. So Plaimont were forced to designate the wine as a table wine, even though their site never had a problem with ripening. Eventually they proved it deserved the status of the Saint Mont appellation, which was restored. We’d look at 2019, 2017, 2016 and 2014. The intervening years were not made as the vintage was not good enough. The wine is made with ambient vineyard yeasts and is also bottled with very low sulphur. It is a blend of local varieties Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Petit Manseng, all made in barrel, with 18 months ageing. Only older barrels are used, the youngest being second fill.

Plaimont bought the Château Les Bois Mathieu in 2015 from a producer who was not a member at that point. It is a hot site that produced beautiful, but very ripe grapes, that made higher alcohol wines that were not suitable for Plaimont. They experimented, and decided the vineyard was most suitable for picking earlier and making a dry rosé. There is Caberenet Sauvignon and Franc in the blend, but also Tannat, Petit Courbu and another heirloom variety, Pinenc. This is the first vintage. Les Vignes Retrouvées is a stalwart of The Wine Society’s list, an inexpensive white that blends local varieties Gros Manseng, Petit Courbu and Aruffiac.

The final two wines are showcases for Plaimont, Le Faîte Blanc and Le Faîte Rouge. Striking with their wax caspules and seals, and wooden tags instead of labels, a tribute to older generations of winemakers who preserved their wines by burying bottles in the clay soils, marked with wooden stakes. The wines are made from the best parcels of the three terroirs that gave Plaimont its name: Plaisance, Aignan and Saint Mont. Le Faîte is produced annually as a limited edition.