Pur Chasan: the forgotten grape variety captivating sommeliers

A mountain white born on the heights of Conflent

In the heart of the Catalan mountains, between Tarerach and Arboussols, Mas Llossanes cultivates a vineyard suspended between sky and rock. Here, at an altitude of nearly 700 meters, Solenn and Dominique Génot have chosen to revive rare grape varieties and defend a different vision of Roussillon: one that is fresher, livelier, and more vertical.

Among them, Chasan holds a special place.

Long considered a confidential, almost forgotten grape variety, it reveals an astonishing expression of purity and minerality on these gneiss soils. In this wind-swept landscape, caught between temperature fluctuations and Mediterranean light, it gives birth to a singular white—taut and luminous—one of the estate's most atypical wines.

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A rare grape variety, revealed by altitude

Chasan is a cross between Chardonnay and Listan, created in the 1950s by INRAE. Originally, it was intended to address issues of yield and climate adaptation. Gradually abandoned, it almost disappeared from French vineyards.

But some grape varieties are just waiting for a terroir to reveal their true personality.

When Solenn and Dominique discovered the potential of Chasan in their high-altitude plots, they chose to dedicate an entire cuvée to it. A rare bet in Roussillon, where single-varietal Chasan wines remain exceptional.

Here, there are no blends designed to smooth out the wine or mask its identity. Pur Chasan is conceived as a direct reading of the place: the fruit, the rock, the mountain winds, and time.

"A conversation wine: it surprises, intrigues,
and opens the door to unexpected gastronomic pairings."

Solenn and Dominique Génot: an artisanal and sensitive approach

At Mas Llossanes, vineyard work is carried out using organic and biodynamic methods, with particular attention paid to the natural balance of the soil and the life of the vineyard.

Solenn and Dominique do not seek to produce ostentatious wines. Their approach is more intuitive, almost contemplative: observing the plots, accompanying fermentations without brutality, preserving the energy of the grape rather than transforming it.

Their mountain vineyard also imposes a different sense of time. At this altitude, ripening is slower, nights remain cool even in summer, and the harvest often takes place well after those in the plains. This natural slowness gives Pur Chasan its tension and aromatic precision.

The result is a wine that escapes the clichés of southern whites: neither heavy nor exuberant, but chiseled, saline, and vibrant.

Vinification, as close to the fruit as possible

After a completely manual harvest, the grapes are delicately pressed. The must is cooled to 8°C for a slow and natural settling, which preserves aromatic finesse. Alcoholic fermentation is conducted on fine lees, in second-fill barrels for 65% of the volume, and in stainless steel tanks for the remaining 35%. This mix of vessels makes it possible to obtain both the texture and complexity provided by the wood, and the mineral freshness preserved by the steel. The 12-month aging on lees refines the palate and builds that characteristic tension.

Why sommeliers are raving about it

What intrigues sommeliers about Pur Chasan is, above all, its unclassifiable character. Its texture, both ample and taut, evokes certain Burgundian whites or alpine wines—which is surprising for a wine from Roussillon. Its persistent minerality, inherited from the gneiss, gives it rare depth. And its aromatic signature—white flowers, warm stone, citrus—opens up avenues for gastronomic pairings that few southern whites allow.

Sommeliers love wines that tell a true story. Pur Chasan has one: that of an almost vanished grape variety, resurrected in an exceptional terroir, at an altitude of 700 meters, in one of the most secret valleys of Roussillon.

Gastronomic pairings

Its freshness and minerality make it a food wine that is as at ease as an aperitif as it is with elaborate dishes.

"Pur Chasan is a wine that is like nothing else.
Maybe that's why we love it so much."