Wine for sale: Fixed price Arretxea
PRODUCER OF THE WEEK
Arretxea
Meaning “the stone house” in Basque, Arretxea is a small estate in Irouléguy that embraced organic and biodynamic farming long before these practices became fashionable. The Riouspeyrous family has viticulture in its blood, as evidenced by the glowing praise of critics such as La Revue du Vin de France: “The white wines have ranked among the finest in South West France virtually since their first release a quarter of a century ago.”
Meaning “the stone house” in Basque, Arretxea is a small estate in Irouléguy that embraced organic and biodynamic farming long...
Arretxea
Thérèse and Michel Riouspeyrous returned to the heart of the Pyrenean mountains in 1989 to revive the family farm. Previously, it was not mixed farming and livestock that sustained it, but vines, in the village of Irouléguy – today the only AOP in the French Basque Country. The couple took over Michel’s grandfather’s estate.
Following painstaking work involving terracing, planting new vines and developing the winery, the estate now extends over 12 hectares. The vineyards are planted to Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc for the reds, and Petit and Gros Manseng alongside Petit Courbu for the whites. The estate adopted of both organic and biodynamic practices long before such approaches became widespread. Through passion and perseverance, the Riouspeyrous – now joined by their sons Iban and Téo – have become a benchmark of Irouléguy and a leading reference in South West France, celebrated for its expressive organic and biodynamic wines.