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.

The cuvée Haitza – “oak” in Basque – is produced using Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose is powerful and expressive, with ripe black fruits aromas (blackberry, black cherry), and animal and spicy (clove) notes. The attack is warm, with an imposing tannic structure, the substance is dense and the length impeccable. To produce this cuvée, the grapes are picked by hand. The grapes, grown organically and biodynamically on complex and varied soils (sandstone, schist, cannel coal and ophite), are destemmed before undergoing natural fermentation. The grapes are steeped for three weeks and the wine matured on its lees in casks for around 18 months.