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Domaine Capmartin Cuvée du Couvent, Madiran, France 2017 (from £21.17, thefinewinecompany.co.uk; borderswines.co.uk) I made a tough approximation of cassoulet the opposite day. I at all times make this dish – which I ought to in all probability simply name “sausage and bean stew” since a number of of the substances and steps from an genuine Gascon model of the dish are lacking – once I determine that autumn is formally, correctly right here, even when it’s really nonetheless fairly heat. It’s a bit like placing on a brand new winter coat earlier than the climate actually requires it: the novelty of the season trumps any sensible issues. Making a “cassoulet” can also be an excuse to open a bottle of one in all my favorite nights-drawing-in wines: a brawny purple from cassoulet nation, Madiran. It’s comprised of tannat, a grape selection with a status (solely additional fuelled by its identify) for being brusquely tannic, however which, with expert palms within the winery and cellar, makes wines comparable to Cuvée du Couvent filled with substance and dramatic depth, all darkish forest fruit and an virtually bloody richness, the tannins sinewy, supportive, good with the fatty richness of the stew.
Château Bouscassé Madiran, France 2016 (from £19.95, uncorked.co.uk; vinatis.co.uk; noblegreenwines.co.uk) Madiran’s largest identify, it’s equal of a classed development Bordeaux château, remains to be in all probability Château Montus, made by the appellation’s most well-known winemaker, Alain Brumont. One in all Brumont’s achievements when he burst onto the scene within the Nineteen Eighties was his potential to tame the tannat tannins, producing wines that had greater than a bit of of the class of Bordeaux, and difficult the notion that Madiran’s wines had been, within the patronising parlance, tough and rustic. Brumont’s signature suaveness may be very a lot obvious within the extra inexpensive wines he makes at Château Bouscassé: the 2016 might by no means be described as mild – it’s nonetheless abundantly, densely dark-fruited. However the tannins are so finely textured, and there are notes of cedar wooden and bitter darkish chocolate. It’s a wine that retains the sun-warmed depth that Madiran-lovers cherish, however which presents it in such a slickly fashionable manner.
Producteurs Plaimont Le Faite Blanc, St-Mont, France 2016 (£20.95, corneyandbarrow.com) Madiran just isn’t the one appellation price in search of out from this nook of Gascon South West France. Close by Saint-Mont produces wines in the identical vernacular (with tannat and different varieties) comparable to Producteurs Plaimont L’Empreinte de Saint Mont 2015 (£15, corneyandbarrow.com), which has a pronounced seam of freshness and a touch of crunchiness to go together with the meaty richness and energy. The identical producer – a well-run co-operative that dominates the Saint-Mont appellation – additionally does a tremendous line in white wines, that are if something much more distinctive than the reds. They are often unbelievable worth: a long-term favorite of this column, Tesco most interesting St-Mont, presents an inordinate quantity of tangy tropical fruit and grapefruit zestiness for its £6.50 price ticket. Plaimont’s top-of-the-line Le Faite Blanc, in the meantime, a mix of the intensely native varieties gros manseng, arrufiac and petit corbu, is a shocking, mouthfilling mixture of tropical tanginess, minerals, and rounded toastiness that’s considerably extra advanced and scrumptious than wines a number of instances the worth from extra well-known addresses.
Observe David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
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