Clos Guirouilh is among the most hardcore, traditional domaines of Jurançon; a rare producer who provides us a window into the historic soul of a wine region. Jean Guirouilh is part of a line of vignerons that have been making wine in Jurançon since the 16th century. This lineage has remained unbroken even during two world wars, during which the women took over running the estate while the men were involved in the resistance war effort. Today the continuity is assured as the baton is being passed to Jean’s daughter Marie-Françoise and her husband, Luis. The microclimates of Jurançon are particularly complex, strongly influenced by a varied topography and the warm wind out of the south, called the Foehn, which blows warm, dry air off the leeward side of the Pyrenees mountains. It is this dry wind which encourages the long, even ripening cycle and creates the conditions which make multiple harvests, extending as exceptionally late as December possible, the key to the amazing concentration in the wines. Nothing at Clos Guirouilh is rushed, and there are no concessions to the pace of the modern world; the wines are released when they are deemed ready to drink after a long period of cellar aging. The resulting wines are deeply rooted in history, uncompromising and majestic.