Cirque Nord
⏳ Drinking Window
2023 - 2025
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted poultry, creamy mushroom risotto, mature sheep's milk cheeses
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from a remarkable natural amphitheater in the Saint-Mont appellation of South-West France, Cirque Nord is a flagship white cuvée from the pioneering Plaimont cooperative. This exceptional wine is born from a cool, north-facing slope ('cirque nord') where ancient clay and limestone soils allow indigenous grapes to ripen slowly, preserving their vibrant acidity and intense aromatic profile. The wine is a tribute to the Pyrenean foothills' viticultural heritage, showcasing the potential of local varieties. Fermented and aged on its fine lees, Cirque Nord balances a rich, textured mouthfeel with a striking, mineral-driven freshness, offering a complex sensory journey filled with citrus blossom, exotic fruits, and deep stony minerality.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1979 through the union of wine cooperatives in Plaisance, Aignan, and Saint-Mont spearheaded by André Dubosc, Plaimont is an undisputed viticultural vanguard in Gascony and the Pyrenean foothills. Spanning diverse terroirs across AOC Saint-Mont, Madiran, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, and Côtes de Gascogne, its vineyards are defined by variegated soils of tawny sands (sables fauves), limestone, and clay-rich molasse tempered by Atlantic and mountain currents. Renowned worldwide for its preservation of ampelographic heritage—exemplified by its private conservatory and historic ungrafted pre-phylloxera plots in Sarragachies—Plaimont has revived forgotten indigenous varieties such as Tardif, Arrufiac, and Manseng Noir. In white vinification, Plaimont champions crystalline freshness, precise reductive aromatic protection, and thoughtful lees contact, highlighting local Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and Colombard. Landmark cuvées include Cirque Nord, Les Cépages Préservés, and Les Vignes Retrouvées, presenting tensile minerality, bright citrus, exotic orchard fruit, and textural salinity emblematic of southwest France.
🍇 Grapes
Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Arrufiac