Domaine du Cinquau

The Domaine du Cinquau is one of the jewels in the crown of the Jurançon appellation, and has thrived under the same family ownership for over four centuries. Located in an exceptional Béarn terroir between the ocean and the mountains, in the Atlantic Pyrenees at Artiguelouve, the vines benefit from the best conditions and produce powerful wines, typical of the South West.

The history of the winery

The origins of the Cinquau estate go back a long way, to 1617, when the ancestors of the current owners, the Bétouzets, acquired the vineyard, its wine-making facilities and the forests located on its land. By this time, Cinquau was already producing Jurançon. The Bétouzet family did not live on the estate; they kept their residence in their Château d'Andrein, but a few years later, one of the younger sons built a house and moved to Cinquau.

In the mid-19th century, Antoine Peyre, the husband of a descendant of the family, modernized and developed the estate's facilities. However, the estate fell into decline with phylloxera and the wars of the early 20th century. It was also a time when consumers lost interest in sweet wines. Production ceased in 1932.

The estate remained in the family, however, and in 1984, Isabelle Saubot, Cinquau's heiress, asked her son Pierre to re-establish the estate's winemaking activity. At the same time, a group of local winegrowers decided to join forces to restore the Jurançon appellation to its former prestige. Pierre Sabot joined this initiative and also became an independent winegrower.

It took 5 years of hard work to rebuild the wine-making facilities, replant the vineyard and refurbish the winery. In 1989, a new vintage was produced at Cinquau, more than 50 years after the last cuvée was made.


The estate's development continues with a new winery created in 2007 and the construction of a vineyard theater and reception hall.

The grape varieties and terroir of Domaine de Cinquau

The vineyard is located in the "entre deux gaves" region between the Gave de Pau and the Gave d'Oloron, in the slopes of the western foothills of the Pyrenees. It benefits from southern and eastern exposure, which protects the vines from strong northerly winds.

The vineyard comprises 14 hectares of "hautain" vines. The vines are trained at a height of two meters to protect the grapes from late frosts, which are common in the region.

The grape varieties are typical of Jurançon, with more than half Petit Manseng. This variety produces very high-quality sweet wines, with a rich, intense aromatic bouquet. A third of the land is planted with Gros Manseng, making both sweet and dry wines. A further 3% is Manseng noir, used for the estate's red cuvée. Finally, there is 7% Petit Courbu, a grape variety used for blending, giving a long finish and complexity to the cuvées.

Skills combining the best of progress and tradition

The estate is in the process of converting to organic farming, a process that will begin in 2019, and has been awarded the HVE label. The investments made in recent years enable the teams to combine the best of modern technologies with the richness of a long winemaking tradition and knowledge of ancestral know-how.

The grapes are harvested by hand, and successive selections ensure that only the best grapes are kept. Cuvées are then aged in vats or barrels, sometimes up to 18 months for the most intense sweet wines.

Domaine de Cinquau offers a range of nine wines, including a sparkling wine, a red wine, three dry Jurançons, three sweet Jurançons and a late harvest cuvée.