Cave d'Irouleguy

A most cooperative winery

Founded by Alexandre Bergouignan and Pierre Minjonnet in 1952, Cave d'I'rouleguy is the major player in the appellation of the same name. Originally, it was made up of 9 winegrowers who decided to join forces to develop their production and work towards recognition of the region's terroir. The consecration of Irouleguy wines came in 1970 with the recognition of the PDO. Since then, the winery has gone from strength to strength, and today boasts 39 winegrowers working to ensure its development, orchestrated around the values of cooperation. A simple ethic that guarantees the quality and consistency of the wines: all the winegrowers undertake to supply the entirety of their production to the winery, and thus participate in the elaboration of the establishment's cuvées. The partner winemakers bring their own personalities and those of their vineyards to bear on the profile of the wines. They include Daniel Dupuy, Jean-Michel Iribarne and Christine Iriart, to name but a few. Today, the Cave d'Irouleguy is a key player in the Basque vineyards, thanks to its involvement in the local economy, and integrates all its stakeholders into its governance in order to promote the impact of its activity on communities. It is also a meeting place. The winery's teams are at your disposal to help you organize your seminars or to welcome you for tours of the winery and tastings of the company's wines and local produce.

The diversity of wines from little-known terroirs

Due to the large number of winemakers associated with the Cave d'Irouleguy, the aromatic profiles of the winery's wines are highly varied. Indeed, Irouleguy's mountain vineyards offer a wide variety of climates and terroirs, and the different estates that come from them each present their own specific flavors. First and foremost, each winemaker's estate benefits from soils with a different geology. Some are light on Triassic red sandstone, others clay or limestone. The influence of these soil types on the style of the wines is not to be overlooked. The vineyard's altitude also allows it to enjoy a micro-climate with wide temperature ranges, subject to southerly winds that cool this southern vineyard. These elements make it the ideal territory for the region's typical grape varieties, as well as some forgotten ones.

Almost 90% of the vineyard is planted with red grape varieties, including Tannat, Cabernet France and Cabernet Sauvignon, which are typical of the area, while the white grape varieties, which account for 10% of the vineyard, are less well known. Petit Manseng, Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu are among the old and forgotten varieties that have been revived in the South-West. The blending of these grape varieties from such varied terroirs makes all the difference in the production of Cave d'Irouleguy cuvées.