Plaisance-Penavayre

Plaisance-Penavayre is a family estate passed down for at least four generations, located in the commune of Vacquiers, south of the Fronton appellation. Today, Marc and Thibaut Penavayre, father and son, manage the estate.

The vineyard covers 23 hectares and has been farmed organically since 2011, with practices inspired by biodynamics. In the vineyard, they rely on a wide diversity of high-quality terroirs and distinctive grape varieties such as Négrette and Bouysselet. In the cellar, they practice gentle winemaking, including hand-harvesting, the use of indigenous yeasts and the most careful ageing possible.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Jean Penavayre was a mixed crop and livestock farmer, like most farmers of his time. A mason in his spare time, he contributed to the construction of many local houses, including the estate’s historic winery, built with six semi-underground concrete vats before and during the Second World War.

His son Louis continued the masonry trade before dedicating himself fully to agriculture alongside his wife, Simone. Together, they expanded the family farm by planting vines, fruit trees, and Cadours garlic. Driven by a desire to showcase their grapes, they left the wine cooperative in 1977 to produce their own wine, thereby creating Domaine Louis Penavayre and releasing their first bottles in 1982.

In 1991, Marc, the son of Louis and Simone, returned to the estate with the intention of dedicating himself entirely to winemaking. He transformed the property by replacing the orchards with new vineyards and building a second winery more aligned with a quality-focused approach. Under his leadership, the estate became Château Plaisance.

From the early 2000s onward, Marc embraced organic farming, advocating hand-harvesting and the use of indigenous yeasts. The estate was officially certified organic in 2011. At the same time, he explored the potential of ancestral grape varieties by creating a Négrette conservatory and reviving Négret Pounjut in 2014.