Léonce Maury

Name: Léonce Maury
Brand: Pardela Spirits
Rating: 7.8 (1 reviews)

Pardela Spirits

Roussillon , Francia

7.8 /10

Vermutpedia Score: 7.8/10

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Overall impression

Léonce Maury is the red vermouth of the Léonce range created by Sabine and François Lurton under Pardela Spirits, launched in 2019 according to leonce-vermouth.fr as a tribute to Léonce Récapet, François's great-grandfather and pioneer of the family's distillation. After the Gascogne Sauvignon Extra Dry, the house chose the Maury vin doux naturel from Mas Janeil in Roussillon as the heart of this red expression linking Léonce Récapet's tradition with François's Languedoc estates. According to domainesfrancoislurton.com, the vermouth is born from a selection of Maury AOC Garnacha Noir: alcohol added during fermentation preserves residual sugar and fresh red-fruit aromas, while barrel ageing brings dried fruit, prune, fig and spice. The aim was to preserve those VDN qualities while designing a vermouth conceived as wine, enriched with some twenty infusions and alcoholates of plants, fruits and spices. Pardela Spirits describes it as the freshness and intensity of southern France, with unique character within French vermouth tradition. For Vermutpedia, Léonce Maury is an elegant bridge between the natural sweet wine world of the Agly valley and author vermouth: Roussillon, Garnacha, Mediterranean botanicals and verifiable Lurton heritage in the brand's official sources.

Nose and palate

The domainesfrancoislurton.com sheet describes a well-rounded, rich and full vermouth with a spiced, peppery finish. Maury brings soft texture and liqueur-like notes of ripe fruit, prune and fig; botanicals add mountain-plant aromas, hyssop and wormwood, citrus touches of grapefruit, lemon and bitter orange, and spices such as star anise, tonka bean and pepper. Pardela Spirits details natural alcoholates of citrus, Mediterranean herbs—hyssop, bennet, germander, juniper—spices and aromatic plants—verbena, angelica, centaury, arnica, wormwood—obtained by maceration or distillation. On the nose, purple robe with ripe Maury fruit, star anise and citrus; on the palate, vinous breadth, soft VDN tannins, pepper and bitter orange on the finish. The profile is sweet by nature—Maury is inherently sugary—but balanced by bitter botanicals and southern spice. Compared with the Extra Dry of the same range, Maury brings more body, candied fruit and Roussillon warmth. For anyone seeking a French red with VDN soul rather than aromatised dry wine, Léonce Maury offers a sensory reading coherent with the «conceived as wine» philosophy that defines the entire Léonce line according to pardelaspirits.fr.

How to serve it

Domaines François Lurton and the brand propose Léonce Maury both neat and in classic cocktails, including Negroni and Americano. The official Negroni Léonce recipe—published by Clément Maës, the house enologist—combines 30 ml Sorgin (François Lurton's premium gin), 30 ml Léonce Maury and 30 ml Campari or Cynar bitter, garnished with an orange slice; a pinch of grated cinnamon adds a festive twist. Maury's natural sweetness and peppery finish suit bitter amaro and herbal gin without added sugar. It also works in an Americano with soda, where VDN fruit and vermouth citrus dialogue with bitter amaro. Served neat, very cold over ice with orange or grapefruit twist, it reveals Maury's liqueur layer and Mediterranean botanicals. In author cocktails it can replace Italian red vermouths when more fruit and southern texture are wanted. Pairs with aged cheeses, dried fruit, dark chocolate and spiced appetisers. For Vermutpedia, Léonce Maury is serious bar vermouth with clear French identity: not a Torinese rosso but a Roussillon red that demands generous ice and citrus to balance its generosity.

Production context

Léonce Maury is made at Mas Janeil in Tautavel, at the foot of the Corbières and in the heart of the Agly valley, where François Lurton has farmed Maury and Côtes du Roussillon with reasoned viticulture for more than twenty-five years. The Maury AOP, protected since 1936, defines a unique vin doux naturel: fermentation stopped with alcohol, natural residual sugar and oak ageing. The vermouth is then enriched with alcoholates from some twenty botanicals according to pardelaspirits.fr; declared composition on domainesfrancoislurton.com includes grapefruit, oranges, lemon, hyssop, bennet, germander, juniper, star anise, tonka bean, pepper, verbena, angelica, centaury, arnica and wormwood. Launched in 2019, it forms a trio with Léonce Extra Dry (2018) and Léonce Malbec (2020). Distributed by Pardela Spirits, 16% vol., 75 cl format. The Léonce range links the legacy of Léonce Récapet—born in 1858, owner of the Distillerie Moderne in Branne in 1880—with François Lurton's worldwide viticultural experience. For Vermutpedia, Maury is the Roussillon expression of the project: sweet Garnacha, southern botanicals and a bridge between Mas Janeil and contemporary cocktail culture.