Whether sweet or dry, the whites of Jurançon cause quite a stir in heart, mind, and on one's passionate palate.  In the Southwest of France betwixt the Pyranees and the sea Jurançon spins the Manseng varieties into sensual delights.  The white wine varieties of Manseng were a favorite of the French poet Colette who called the wine séduction du vert galant and was quoted "I was a girl when I met this prince; aroused, imperious, treacherous, as all great seducers are."

Winemakers in Jurançon picked up on this endorsement and began touting the wines (reputed) viril and puissant qualities in sales brochures and with posters that advertise "Manseng means Jurançon means Sex".  Perhaps this is why Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was so excited to write, "Little sweet wine of Jurançon you are dear to my memory still!" and so why not explore more about Jurançon: 

In The Harbour: The Wine Of Jurançon

Little sweet wine of Jurançon,
You are dear to my memory still!
With mine host and his merry song,
Under the rose-tree I drank my fill.

Twenty years after, passing that way,
Under the trellis I found again
Mine host, still sitting there au frais,
And singing still the same refrain.

The Jurançon, so fresh and bold,
Treats me as one it used to know;
Souvenirs of the days of old
Already from the bottle flow,

With glass in hand our glances met;
We pledge, we drink. How sour it is
Never Argenteuil piquette
Was to my palate sour as this!

And yet the vintage was good, in sooth;
The self-same juice, the self-same cask!
It was you, O gayety of my youth,
That failed in the autumnal flask!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

To read more about contemporary Jurançon or to buy these wondrous wines (sweet or dry) be sure to explore the Jurancon of Domaine Cauhape and Chateau Jolys.