The barrels that winemaker Georges Puig blends to produce ‘Pyror’ were first set down in the early 1960s by his father and grandfather, and have been maintained as "perpetual barrels" ever since, with small amounts withdrawn every few years. The wine—equal parts Grenache blanc, Grenache gris and Macabeu—slowly concentrates in the ancient oak and chestnut barrels, gaining a particular combination of polish and rusticity.

Technically dry, the wine is marked by a subtle impression of sweetness, memory of a touch of Rivesaltes mistakenly added by Georges’ father decades ago. Best as a digestif, or with richer cheeses including sweeter blues. Shelf-stable, it should be served lightly chilled or at cellar temperature.

See related coverage of this product by Wine & Spirits Magazine, February 2020

keeps indefinitely
(50-65ºF)

keeps indefinitely
(55-64ºF)

2-3 oz. pour
(59-64ºF)

About Domaine Puig-Parahÿ

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The storied history of Puig-Parahÿ extends back to 1446, when Etienne Parahÿ was mentioned as owner of a house and vineyards in Passa. Today, nearly seven centuries later, his descendant Georges Puig serves as winemaker and custodian of that ancestral family home—its ancient cellars holding wines from the late 19th century, still resting in barrel. With Mount Canigou and the Pyrénées serving as a timeless backdrop, vineyards in Passa, Thuir, Sainte-Columbe, Terrats and Castelnueve—including vines more than a century old—are farmed lutte raisonée, with 10 hectares now farmed under biodynamic precepts; their sites providing an array of distinctive terroirs and soils including argile-calcaire, galet and various schists. All wines are fermented with native yeasts.

Puig-Parahÿ is famous for its old Rivesaltes (including the vintages to 1875) and, more recently, for its "Pyror" Rancio sec, a benchmark expression of this most ancient wine. In keeping with family tradition, the sweet Rivesaltes wines are made exclusively from Grenache noir, while the Rancio sec is always made with white grapes: Grenache blanc, Grenache gris and Macabeu. While Georges begins many sentences by saying: "In the past…," the wines of Puig-Parahÿ stand testament to the adage that "the past is never past" and the role that tradition, terroir and time play in the wines' singular expression.

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About Côtes Catalanes IGP

One of the most dynamic IGPs in the greater Languedoc-Roussillon wine region, the Côtes Catalanes IGP encompasses nearly all of the Pyrénées-Orientales administrative départment and most of its appellations: Côtes du Roussillon and Côtes du Roussillon-Villages; Grand Roussillon; Maury and Maury sec; Rivesaltes and Muscat de Rivesaltes. (The diminutive Banyuls and Collioure AOPs are covered by Côte Vermeille IGP.) The climate is Mediterranean, but the terroir itself is quite varied: dark schist, granite, gneiss and clay-limestone soils along its northern slopes; dry, garrigue-scented clay, sand and gravel on the plains around Perpignan. Temperatures, some of France’s most extreme, are moderated by maritime influence and the proximity of the snow-capped Pyrénées. The best hillside slopes cool considerably at night, retaining acidity and freshness in the grapes.

Under the Côtes Catalanes IGP, independent vignerons and cooperatives produce mono-varietal expressions (e.g., Domaine Jorel Carignan ‘Male Care’) not currently endorsed under existing AOPs, as well as wines from international varieties (Chardonnay, Sauvignon blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon) that have increasingly found favor amongst some growers and cooperatives. Ironically, the region’s most traditional wine, Rancio Sec - unfortified and fully-oxidized - is also its rarest and falls under the auspices of the Côtes Catalanes (and Côte Vermeille) IGP.