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Rather than merely watching the future unfold, Plaimont’s ethos is one of hope and possibility, founded on the belief that the answers to today’s winemaking and viticultural challenges lie in pairing modern technology with previous generations’ ancestral knowledge of the land and its vines.
Although the fruits of Plaimont’s efforts are ultimately seen in its wines, this ‘cooperative of cooperatives’ is equally focused on the natural and human resources that make them possible. Today, Plaimont brings together 600 families managing a total of 5,300ha across IGP Côtes de Gascogne, AOC Saint Mont, AOC Madiran, AOC Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and AOC Jurançon. Plaimont’s work – and identity – is based on a collective effort to preserve and reinterpret the terroir of the French Pyrenees and its local varieties.
Looking back – and thinking ahead
In their quest, Plaimont producers have been prescient, anticipating many of the trends and challenges that have dominated the wine world in recent decades. Their approach and philosophy has been equally pioneering, combining research with a pragmatic, holistic understanding of environmental and social sustainability.
At Plaimont, all work is done with two timescales in mind – ‘tomorrow and the long-term,’ says Olivier Bourdet-Pees, managing director and head winemaker at Plaimont: ‘We need to have a viable business model, and make wines that people want to buy and drink, whilst also preserving our land and heritage for future generations.’
Bourdet-Pees explains how Plaimont’s guiding strategy has allowed it to tackle – and to an extent avoid – many of the issues producers are elsewhere only now beginning to address: water shortages, rising alcohol levels and changes in consumer demand. ‘The answer to many of these challenges is to be found in the past – in the wines our grandfathers produced and drank,’ continues Bourdet-Pees.
Trust in the land
To this end, Plaimont has focused attention and resources on extensive ampelographic research – much of which the cooperative has led and funded itself. By identifying and propagating ancestral varieties – once avoided due to their lower yields and difficult, late ripening – Plaimont has carefully selected a palette of grapes particularly well-suited to the viticultural demands of climate change.
Varieties such as Manseng Noir, Tardif, Arrufiac and Pinenc deliver a natural balance of alcohol, fruit and acid. At home in the French Pyrenees, these cépages show adaptivity and require fewer resources than some of their international counterparts, while also encapsulating Plaimont’s landscape and history.
‘We are able to produce drinkable, fresh wines that are naturally moderate in alcohol,’ explains Bourdet-Pees, ‘We have great belief in our terroir and indigenous varieties.’ This trust in the land is coupled with the unwavering sense of community that makes Plaimont a social project as much as a pioneering winemaking venture.
