It’s been a tough year

The last year has been hard at Domaine Barrère. You may have read the sad news in the Vineyard Partner magazine. Anne-Marie – the lead winemaker on the family estate – very sadly died last year. She had been ill for some time, but had battled through, never stopping her work for the domaine. Our thoughts are with the family – her sister Christiane and mother, Madame Barrère.

Life and wine goes on at the estate

The family is being well looked after by Lionel Osmin and his team – the guy who first introduced Tony to this beautiful estate. Chief helper is Damiens Sartori who has worked with Anne-Marie for the last ten years, so he’s well versed on how she conjured up the wonderful richness, flavour and balance in the wine.

So in 2024, Damiens stepped up to lead the winemaking on the estate, but for 2023 it was Anne-Marie in charge. And it was quite a challenging year!

Your case of Clos de la Vierge 2023

While 2022 was really dry and hot, 2023 was warm, damp and verging on the tropical. This caused issues with mildew and a subsequent 30% loss of grapes. The upside was that the remaining 70% had excellent concentration, so you can look forward to lots of intense, ripe fruit in your 2023 release. The season ended with very warm weather, so there is lovely ripeness in the wine and a touch less acidity than say, 2021.

Damiens tasted it recently, recounting,

“Golden in hue, the wine exudes aromas of exotic fruit – pineapple and yellow peach. The palate is full and rich and rounded. A very mouthfilling, gouleyant, almost ‘fat’ in style white with an exceptionally long aftertaste. There was no bâtonnage this year (stirring of the lees) and ageing in bottle was shorter. It is simply luscious from release.”

We love to sip this wine solo, but it’s also a dream with creamy sauced white meats, savoury stuffed pancakes (try a squash and sage stuffing with a light bechamel sauce on top) or richer seafood like salmon or crab risotto. The wine needs to be chilled, but not overchilled.

Farewell Roger!

Roger the cat bid ‘adieu’ in autumn 2024. He was a cat full of character – the escapologist of the family, slipping into visitors’ cars and making a sneaky getaway! Christiane and Madame Barrère welcomed a new cat to the family at Christmas, named Winnie, as in Winnie the Pooh, as he’s a bit four-left-paws! He’s confined to the house for now, but will be allowed to wander further afield soon.

The Wine Advocate sings the praises of Jurançon

Yohan Castaing from The Wine Advocate visited Jurançon in summer last year and was full of praise, calling the region “the pearl of southwest France”. He wrote:

“I’ve long been passionate about the Jurançon … Thanks to its high average altitude (200-300 meters), it’s capable of delivering wines of remarkable freshness and vitality, even in warmer vintages.

Today, the region’s dynamism, fuelled by the influx of innovative winemakers … positions the Jurançon’s dry wines among southwest France’s most exciting and highest-quality offerings.”

High praise indeed from this well-respected publication and certainly well-deserved in our book.

Meanwhile, at the domaine, Damiens says they are just about to start blending the cuvées for the 2024 wine, and are being super vigilant in case of any frost when the vine growth is so tender.

Let your bottles of Clos de la Vierge 2023 settle a few days after delivery before you tuck in. As ever, there’s no rush here. A glorious rich white for creamy white meat dishes, duck confit, salmon or a luxurious gratin.