The wines of Jurancon are made in the green foothills of the western Pyrenees around the town of Pau, not far from Lourdes. With an altitude of 300 metres, the climate is a combination of harsh mountain weather and humid mildness from the ocean.
The grape varieties that thrive here are Jurancon's own Gros and Petit Manseng. Jurançon comes dry (sec) or sweet (moelleux). It is the small-berried Petit Manseng is the key to making Jurançon Moelleux, which owes its sweetness not to noble rot but to shrivelling, or raisining, on the vine.
