2023 Vignobles Marie Maria 'Novel' Sec Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh

Love Dry Riesling? Meet Southwest France’s Best-Kept Secret.

It comes from the same collective of local winegrowers who joined forces to champion their region’s heritage, quality, and identity under the banner of Vignobles Marie Maria—one of the most dynamic voices in Southwest France today.

In the local Béarnais language, “Pacherenc” means “vines on sticks,” and “Vic-Bilh” means “old country.” The name tells you everything about this place: a cooler, high-humidity terroir tucked into the foothills of the Pyrenees, where growers must train their vines high off the ground to evade botrytis.

Picture a landscape as lush as Valpolicella—swap the Alps for the Pyrenees, and you’re there. Tradition runs deep here (yes, the Basque beret stereotype is real), giving the region a sense of timeless rural identity that shows up in every glass.

Vignobles Marie Maria works at the core of this story—an ambitious project uniting dozens of passionate growers dedicated to expressing the Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Madiran terroirs at their purest. Their winemakers focus on precision, freshness, and authenticity, crafting wines that highlight the region’s signature grapes: Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and limited additions of local varieties like Arrufiac. They combine long lees aging, minimal new oak, and meticulous vineyard work to deliver wines that are both vibrant and deeply rooted in place.

2023 Novel Sec is a perfect example. Made almost entirely from Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng, it skips Arrufiac (which can overpower serious dry styles) and instead leans into clean fruit, lifted aromatics, and mineral snap.

The wine was raised on lees for an extended period—common for top estates in the region—which gives it texture, tension, and a beautifully layered palate. And while the appellation was once dominated by sweet wines, dry Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh now represents about 65% of production, making this bottle part of the region’s modern renaissance.

This is old country tradition meets forward-thinking craftsmanship, delivered by a collective of growers who know their terroir better than anyone.