Handford Wines

"Charles Hours is everyone's image of the ideal Pyrenean winegrower: jolly, fleshy, strong, with a head perfectly fashioned for a beret and a name homonymous with the region's most celebrated wild animal. Don't be misled, though; this skilled and consistent winemaker is much more than a postcard stereotype. The Jurancon sec "Cuvee Marie" comes from a 3-ha vineyard planted almost wholly to Gros Manseng with a little Corbu. It's barrel fermented (just 10% new oak) and lees-aged for about 11 months, and can be both the creamiest and smokiest of all dry Jurancon. Uroulat is the sweet version: 4-ha planted with Petit Manseng harvested in October and November. This wine needs age. In youth it is solid but gruff; after a decade or so, it opens up into buttery yet fresh-fruited articulacy" Andrew Jefford, The New France. "Charles Hours makes stunningly good Jurancon, but sadly the amount he makes is considerably smaller than the demand. This Cuvee Marie is an exceptional Jurancon sec, which is vinified in oak" Oz Clarke

The Wine

An exotic dessert wine made from botrytis Petit Manseng from the Jurancon region just below the Pyrenees moutains. Palate is full of honey, lemons, caramalized citrus and fragrant yellow stone fruits. Not clawingly sweet due to the wonderfully refreshing acidity. One of our perennial favourites.

Single Bottle: £8.99

In a case of 12: £8.54