A vineyard between the mountains and the ocean
The appellations of Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh are located in what is known as the Pyrenean foothills, 60kms north of the Pyrenees and 100kms east of the Atlantic Ocean.
The soil
The appellations are organized around the main ridge lines oriented North/South and the main slopes facing East, all with an altitude oscillating between 180 and 300 metres with north-south exposure.
Such features offer a certain number of microclimate/soil combinations to the vineyard, as well as a wide diversity of wines.
For the soils, the 3 main terroirs are :
- Clay Limestone soils: wines for laying down.
They are rather common to the western slopes and steep banks. They give wines with the right structure and long ageing potential.
- Clay soils: for fruity wines.
We find them on the east and south slopes. These soils with great diversity give balanced and gourmet wines.
- Rolled pebbles: for elegant wines.
The pebbles appear on the dominant summits, these draining soils retain the heat and favour silky, delicate wines.
Between ocean and mountains
Located 60km north of the Pyrenees and 80km east of the Atlantic Ocean, bordering Gascony, the region is equally subject to a certain climatic complexity dominated by an oceanic climate.
With a fairly high rainfall, the climatic variation can be summarized as: lots of rain in the spring, hot summers, autumn with still hot days combined with cool nights which is ideal, creating a thermal amplitude boosting full maturity of the tannins.
In such optimal conditions, it is not unusual for the grape harvests to sometimes last until the end of autumn for the Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh.