The Domaine du Clos de Pougette is a Cadurcian family estate based at the hamlet of Cournou, in the commune of Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt (46140), around twenty minutes south-west of Cahors. Pierre Benac runs 23 hectares of vines under certified organic farming, on a pure limestone causse terroir. Our editorial team makes it a pilot profile because it perfectly illustrates what an independent estate of the Cahors AOC can represent in 2026: family roots over five generations, completed organic conversion, regenerative agricultural practices (including a rare kunekune-pig pasture), coherent range and open welcome.
For context on the appellation, see our complete Cahors AOC guide and our terroir page.
Estate identity card
- Location: Cournou hamlet, commune of Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt (46140), Lot — 15-20 minutes south-west of Cahors.
- Surface: 23 hectares owned, causse plateau.
- Winemaker: Pierre Benac, family property across five generations, EARL formed in 1998.
- Grape varieties: Malbec dominant (around 80%), complemented by Merlot and Tannat; Chenin for sweet whites (plots planted from 2009).
- Certifications: Agriculture Biologique, Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE), France Passion, Vignobles & Découvertes, Bienvenue à la Ferme, Vignerons Indépendants.
- Range: four Cahors AOC red cuvées (Tradition, Clos de Pougette, Les Hauts de Pougette, Pierres Levées), IGP Côtes du Lot red / rosé / sweet white, Ratafia du Quercy, artisanal grape juice.
- Distribution: direct sales at the estate, France Passion, Twil platform, local merchant Chai des Chartreux (Cahors).
- Welcome: by appointment, free tasting.
Estate history
The Benac family has been rooted at Cournou since the 19th century, making Clos de Pougette a wine farm passed down over five generations. The current legal structure dates from 1998, year of the EARL Clos de Pougette's formation, which formalised Pierre Benac's takeover of the family estate. The shift to organic farming is more recent and reflects the generational evolution of the estate: AB certification is now acquired and complemented by the Haute Valeur Environnementale label, which more broadly covers soil management, biodiversity and fertilisation practices.
The estate has been recognised by the Guide Hachette des Vins, which awarded Les Hauts de Pougette 2012 one star in its 2016 edition — a vintage whose production had been limited to 5,300 bottles, a sign of tight plot-selection work.
Regenerative agricultural practices
The most distinctive element of the estate's practices is undoubtedly the use of kunekune-breed pigs to maintain the vineyard. The estate's official site indicates that 18 kunekune pigs graze between the rows, where they ensure natural inter-row and under-vine weeding while fertilising the soils through their droppings.
The kunekune is a breed of New Zealand origin, imported to Europe from the 1990s and used in recent years in French and Swiss vineyards as an alternative to chemical or mechanical weeding. Its characteristics make it particularly well suited to the vine:
- Essentially herbivorous diet: unlike most pigs, the kunekune browses grass and young shoots rather than digging up the soil.
- Short snout: it naturally limits excessive soil turning, preserving soil structure and avoiding damage to the vine's surface roots.
- Modest weight (60–80 kg adult): limited soil compaction, unlike machines.
- Docile temperament: easy integration with the winemaker's work.
This practice remains very rare in the French South-West vineyard. Most documented French references concern Champagne, the Rhône Valley and a few Bordeaux experiments; see the Vitisphere report and the Réussir Vigne article cited as sources for the national overview. Its presence at Cournou is therefore a strong qualitative signal, consistent with organic certification and HVE.
Beyond the kunekune, the estate follows a global regenerative viticulture approach: cover crop between rows, controlled yields, manual harvest, gentle vinification without superfluous inputs.
The terroir: a pure limestone causse
The estate is planted on the Cournou causse, a limestone plateau on the left bank of the Lot. The soil is stony and shallow, on Kimmeridgian limestone slab, extremely free-draining, fully sun-exposed. Malbec vines must plunge their roots deep through the limestone fissures to find residual water — which gives the wines a pronounced minerality and preserved freshness despite summer heat.
The day/night thermal swing is strong here (15–20 °C in summer), which preserves the acidity of the berries at ripeness. Harvests are generally later than in the valley by one to two weeks, evidence of slow ripening — the condition for developing aromatic complexity without excess alcohol.
The official site specifies that the estate combines two soil types: the majority of the area in shallow stony soil over limestone, and a minority part in deeper reddish soil with low limestone presence. This pedological contrast lets the estate play on mineral causse concentration for selection cuvées (notably Les Hauts de Pougette) and on fruity suppleness on entry and mid-range cuvées.
To understand the three major zones of the AOC, see our clay-limestone terroir of the Cahors AOC page.
The philosophy: Cadurcian tradition and sober demand
Pierre Benac assumes a classic but not conservative approach. Long but controlled vinifications, manual harvest, ageing mostly in concrete vat, recourse to oak barrel reserved for the selection cuvée (Les Hauts de Pougette, 22 months in barrel). Yields are deliberately low to favour concentration without resorting to aggressive extractions.
This editorial stance — extract the terroir without overloading the wood — is exactly what has characterised the Cadurcian qualitative revival for twenty years. Combined with the organic conversion and kunekune pasture, it places Clos de Pougette in the progressive fringe of family estates in the appellation: not "marketing biodynamics", but real agronomic coherence, measurable plot by plot.
Flagship cuvées
Cahors AOC Tradition (2023)
Grapes: Malbec / Merlot / Tannat blend, vines 10–30 years old Cellaring: drink within 5 years
The estate's entry level. Typically Cadurcian profile, fruity, present but accessible tannic structure. Short ageing to preserve fruit, ideal for the everyday table.
Cahors AOC Clos de Pougette (2022)
Grapes: Malbec dominant, complemented by Merlot Cellaring: 5 to 8 years
The mid-range cuvée that carries the estate's name. Long vinification, more structured profile than Tradition, vat ageing. The reference wine to taste to understand the house style.
Cahors AOC Les Hauts de Pougette (2021)
Grapes: 100% Malbec, plot selection Ageing: 22 months in oak barrel Cellaring: 8 to 12 years Distinction: Guide Hachette des Vins — 1 star on 2012 vintage (2016 edition)
The signature cuvée, plot selection on the best causse lands, long barrel ageing. Ample profile, silky tannins, long finish. Our top 10 Cahors wines 2026 selected it among the appellation's good value propositions.
Cahors AOC Pierres Levées
Old-vine cuvée marketed in very small quantities. 2014 vintage available until depleted. Concentrated profile, mature expression of old vines on the causse — reserved for connoisseurs and estate customers.
Côtes du Lot IGP « Rosé des Trois Frères »
Grapes: Quercy red grapes, sometimes 100% Malbec depending on vintage Profile: off-dry rosé, fruity, generous
Summer house speciality, to serve chilled as aperitif or with Mediterranean cuisine.
Ratafia du Quercy
Type: regional mistelle (grape must + eau-de-vie) Service: 8–10 °C, as aperitif or with dessert
A traditional regional speciality that few estates still preserve. The ratafia is served as aperitif with foie gras, or at the end of the meal with a dark chocolate dessert. Our curiosity favourite of the estate.
Artisanal grape juice
Pasteurised Malbec grape juice with no additions, bottled at the estate. A parallel production that valorises the harvest beyond wine and lets families with children extend the tasting.
The editor's word
Clos de Pougette embodies a certain idea of the modern family Cahors: Cadurcian roots over five generations, completed organic conversion, vanguard regenerative practices, coherent range and personalised welcome. It is an estate worked plot by plot, not a marketing product — and that is precisely what makes its strength today.
Strengths:
- Organic and HVE certifications acquired, complemented by regenerative practices rare in the South-West (kunekune pasture).
- Remarkable value: Tradition under €7 and Les Hauts de Pougette under €12 are among the best deals of the appellation at these price levels.
- Clear and assumed terroir identity: pure causse, surface limestone, plot selection.
- Welcome open to the public by appointment, free tasting, personalised tour by the winemaker — one of the best entry doors to discover the AOC on site.
- Range diversity (four AOC cuvées, rosé, sweet white, ratafia, grape juice) for a complete and educational tasting.
- Polished communication: official site closdepougette.fr entirely redone, showcasing the estate, its cuvées and its regenerative practices with editorial care matching the vineyard work.
To note for the wine lover:
- Deliberately limited production: certain cuvées may sell out at the end of a vintage — order in advance directly from the estate or via the online boutique.
- Accessible range profile: the estate does not offer a single-plot cuvée above €15, a deliberate choice favouring generous value across the range.
An estate to visit in person to grasp in a single comparative tasting all that the Cournou causse can offer: minerality, freshness, structure and fruit, run organically.
The Domaine du Clos de Pougette is an editorial partner of vin-de-cahors.fr. This profile has not been subject to any editorial validation by the estate and reflects the independent opinion of the editorial team, based on verified public sources (closdepougette.fr, Vignerons Indépendants du Lot, Cahors Vallée du Lot tourism, Guide Hachette des Vins, Vitisphere).
Visiting the estate
- Address: Domaine du Clos de Pougette, Cournou hamlet, 46140 Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt, France.
- Telephone: +33 6 22 50 51 42 — email: closdepougette.cahors@gmail.com.
- Getting there: from Cahors, western exit, towards Pradines then Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt. About 15–20 minutes by car. Free parking on site, coach access possible.
- Welcome conditions: visit and tasting exclusively by appointment. Monday to Friday, 8am–7pm depending on the winemaker's calendar.
- Tasting: free, English spoken.
- Events: open days on the third weekend of May with gourmet market; gourmet meals in July-August with reservation.
- Lodging: campervan welcome (France Passion stop), group welcome, water point.
- To combine: the road between Saint-Vincent-Rive-d'Olt and Trespoux-Rassiels allows you to chain with other causse estates, notably Mas del Périé. A full itinerary is proposed in our wine-tourism notebook.
Public sources consulted: closdepougette.fr (official site — cuvées, prices, kunekune, history) · Vignerons Indépendants du Lot — Clos de Pougette (surface, certifications, contact, hours) · Cahors Vallée du Lot — estate (welcome conditions, certifications) · Guide Hachette des Vins (star on Les Hauts de Pougette 2012) · Vitisphere — kunekune pasture in the vines (general context) · Réussir Vigne — kunekune for weeding (general context). Profile published and updated 15 May 2026.
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