Léonce Vermouth
Founded in 1999 by François Lurton, Pardela Wines launched their "Spirits project” when François Lurton launched his range of innovative vermouths and gins, made from wines produced on his vineyards. Their mission is to craft French spirits produced with expertise, passion, and the pursuit of perfect balance.
The Léonce range of vermouths is a tribute to François’ great-grandfather, Léonce Récapet, an inventive distiller, hard worker, and true pioneer.
Terroir in Vermouth
Each Léonce vermouth expresses a particular terroir and enhances François' favorite grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc from Gascony, France, Maury from Roussillon, France, and Malbec from Chacayes, Argentina. Drawing on his family expertise, enriched by the winemaker's experience, these vermouths, conceived like wines, elegantly and subtly link the world of wine and the world of spirits.
What is Vermouth?
Vermouth is an aperitif made from fortified wine and flavored with a selection of plants , and depending on the region and country of production, there are different grape varieties used for its production.
Léonce Extra Dry White Vermouth
The Les Fumées Blanches estate is located in the Gascony region of southwestern France, an area particularly renowned for Armagnac. In 1997, François Lurton and his brother Jacques recognized the potential of this previously unknown terroir, ideal for cultivating and expressing the true character of Sauvignon Blanc.
Les Fumées Blanches takes its name from the morning mists, a consequence of the significant temperature differences between night and day, which drift like white smoke over the vines on the foothills. These mists offer protection from the harsh southern French sun for part of the day.
Extra Dry White Vermouth
Crafted with a base of Sauvignon Blanc.
This vermouth, elegantly and subtly expresses all the complexity of François' favorite grape variety: Sauvignon Blanc. Léonce Extra Dry Sauvignon Blanc is made using a base of Sauvignon Blanc wine from our Domaine des Fumées Blanches vineyard. Fortified with Sauvignon Blanc brandy, the wine is then enriched with botanicals through maceration or the blending of distillates.
The botanicals include cinchona, grapefruit, lime, artemisia (wormwood), hyssop, mandarin, yuzu, kumquat, sweet and bitter orange, gentian, quassia amara, cubeb pepper, and cardamom.
Nose: Initially an explosive nose of citrus (pink grapefruit, lemon, orange zest) followed by notes of violet and sage.
Palate: A round and expressive palate with notes of lychee and bitter orange with a gentle bitterness on the finish with notes of licorice and wormwood.
Enjoy it chilled, neat, on the rocks or with a premium tonic.
Léonce will elevate your cocktails, such as the Spritz (2 oz. Léonce, 1.5 oz. Sparkling Wine, top with Sparkling Water) or the Nuit Blanche (1.5 oz. Sorgin Gin, 1.5 oz. Léonce).
Reviews
95 points (International Wine & Spirits Competition, 2020)
Léonce Maury Red Vermouth
For more than 25 years, François has cultivated the terroirs of Maury and Tautavel in Roussillon on his Mas Janeil property. At the foot of the Corbières mountains, in the heart of the Agly Valley terroir, lies Mas Janeil. Thirty-four hectares of vines planted on a wide variety of soils with different exposures produce grapes of exceptional quality, which are then vinified with precision at the Mas. For over 25 years, François has been making wines without artifice, following sustainable farming practices that respect the vines, blending innovation and tradition.
He chose Maury, a naturally sweet fortified wine, as the heart of Léonce Rouge.
The Maury PDO has protected the region's unique expertise in producing naturally sweet wines since 1936. The winemaking process is stopped mid-fermentation by the addition of alcohol, which leaves a residual natural sugar in the wine. The fortified wines are then aged in oak barrels.
Maury Red Vermouth
Crafted with a base of Maury sweet fortified red wine.
For over 20 years, François has been showcasing the best of the Languedoc-Roussillon terroir on his estates. He chose Maury, a naturally sweet fortified wine appellation, as the base for Léonce Rouge. This vermouth is conceived like a wine, with a blend of several Maury vintages that express the complexity and richness of this unique Roussillon terroir and perfectly balances its aromas.
Naturally sweet, Maury is then enriched with distillates. These are natural extracts include citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, lemon), Mediterranean herbs (hyssop, blessed thistle), spices (juniper, star anise, chili), and aromatic plants (verbena, angelica, wormwood) obtained through maceration or distillation. Léonce possesses a unique character while remaining true to the tradition of French vermouths.
Nose: A typical Maury nose of ripe fruit enhanced by a spicy touch of star anise, an explosion of citrus followed by vegetal notes of sage and hyssop.
Palate: A full and round palate where peppery and spicy notes are balanced with the natural tannins of Maury. A complex and persistent finish of chili pepper and bitter orange.
Enjoy it chilled, neat, on the rocks, or with a premium tonic.
Léonce will elevate your classic cocktails, such as the Negroni (1 oz. Léonce Rouge, 1 oz. Sorgin Gin, 1 oz. Amaro) or the Americano (1 oz. Léonce Rouge, 1 oz. Amar, and a splash of sparkling water).
Press
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![Sabine Jaren and Francois Lurton stand together.]()
François Lurton creates a special vermouth
François Lurton, from the eponymous winegrowing dynasty in Bordeaux, not only vinifies excellent wines in South America and Europe, but also has a great passion for distinctive distillates. After the rousing success of his Sorgin, a gin distilled from Sauvignon Blanc, he and his partner Sabine Jaren have now created a vermouth – from this same grape variety.
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![Overhead view of several cocktails with ice in glasses on a black surface.]()
Top six vermouths from around the world
Below you’ll find six top-rated vermouths from the 2020 IWSC, from a range of countries and styles, spanning a Sherry producer in Spain to a rendering based on a French Sauvignon Blanc – and that’s before we’ve even got to Vermouth’s heartland of Italy…
