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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.1 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 55 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Renevin on 10/14/2023 & rated 92 points: Nez viande, animal, cuir. En bouche tout en rondeur, ampleur moyenne . Beaucoup de fraîcheur en finale. Tres agréable. A boire, mais devrait tenir encore quelques années malgre ses 23 ans (359 views) | | | Tasted by Julian Marshall on 3/28/2023 & rated 93 points: Just as enjoyable as before but in a totally different way: the cabernet franc (I didn't even know there was any) has taken over the finish, making it much fresher than before. Mostly red fruit now - so redcurrant, red cherry and cranberry, with still enough zest midpalate to keep it interesting, but with that cool finish that reminded me of a Loire red. Quite weird but very good. (724 views) | | | Tasted by vagrantone on 12/25/2021 & rated 93 points: First of 5 bottles.
not decanted as this was the first bottle.
Having tasted it, I would prefer to let it evolve in bottle and glass and not decant.
This had everything that I look for in an aged Madiran without the more pronounced oak profile found in the Montus bottles.
Nice hue; very appropriate for its age.
Excellent complexity with some fruit still, spices, earthy notes, animal/leather aromas. Excellent texture with enough tannins to hold everything together for another 5+ years. Excellent balance and finish.
An absolute bargain at about 20 Euros. (885 views) | | | Tasted by F_&_M on 11/25/2021 & rated 93 points: Still drinking well ! Decanted 2 hours. (921 views) | | | Tasted by Marcorleans on 4/25/2021 & rated 88 points: Une bouteille que est resté dans mon cellier plus longtemps que prévu. Elle a bien vielli; dépot important, couleur pourpre, petits fruits, pas trèes long en bouche. (1158 views) | | | Tasted by Julian Marshall on 1/5/2021 & rated 93 points: Not my sort of wine anymore, but this is a very impressive example of Bouscassé VV. The nose is closer to forest fruits now, the flavours too, with more spice than before, but there is still a searing middle section of redcurrants and cranberry, the finish being a lot more elegant and streamlined than in the past.
Somehow lighter on its feet than the Montus Prestige 00 tried recently, this is a much cheaper alternative for lovers of Pessac-Léognan or even St.Julien.
This is still an excellent QPR at auction - at between 25 and 30€, about half the price of a Bordeaux of the same quality. (1264 views) | | | Tasted by Renevin on 4/9/2020 & rated 92 points: Nez empyreumatique, pierre de fusil, plaster, expressif et complexe. En bouche tout en rondeur, ample et une belle finale. Probablement â son mieux mais devrait se maintenir encore quelques années (1235 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 3/7/2019 & rated 91 points: Monthly tasting club LTC 2019-03 Two special sets of wines (@ DJ): In the bouquet earth, tobacco, licorice, leather, mushrooms and rustic flavors. On the palate the same impressions, chocolate, good acidity and the tannin still has a soft bite. Still a beautiful wine. (1780 views) | | | Tasted by jkoenen on 10/4/2016 & rated 93 points: Damp earth, prunes and black cherries, antique cabinets, humidor, spicebox, dried herbs and a touch of manure. On the palate there is a luxury mouthfeel, horste stable, classic dryness, acidity and rusticity. Resolving tannines, completely a-point. Somewhere halfway a St-Estephe and a Cornas. Amazing QPR. (4048 views) | | | Tasted by taddfranke on 3/9/2016 & rated 91 points: Bottle was opened with cork removed for about an hour, had been well cellared since acquisition many years ago.
Wine was elegantly smooth and characteristic of Tannat with lovely consistent aftertaste and without any detectable defects. It was lovely with the Pot Roast that had been cooked with a different Tannat that may have enhanced the pairing. The wine held its flavor without deterioration over the next hour plus indicating that it has likely peaked and has not started sliding downward. (4437 views) | | | Tasted by jhill on 2/18/2016 & rated 85 points: not a big fan of the tannat grape. However this wine may change my opinion. A strong winter wine. Earth tones and some forrest fruit. I tried this 2000 vintage two years ago. At that time it required a few hours of decanting. Now no need for decanting. Can be drunk right away. (4504 views) | | | Tasted by Seb Frefranc on 2/15/2015 flawed bottle: Corked. (5173 views) | | | Tasted by F_&_M on 10/4/2014 & rated 93 points: Tasting very well now. One hour decanted. (5210 views) | | | Tasted by drgrape on 7/9/2014 & rated 84 points: This wine could have been very nice had it not been for the barnyard taste which just overpowers it. There is dark intense flavor that on its own would have been enjoyable. Just not sure why the French can't control the barnyard. Drank over two nights, no improvement. (3852 views) | | | Tasted by F_&_M on 12/25/2013: Decanted for 1.5hrs. Finally ready to drink! On previous occasions, it took 3-4hrs of airing before it was drinkable. Very thick and big, with some nice fruit too. Really good match for the filet and au gratin potatoes. Really a fantastic wine now. No hint of brown or oxidation flavors, I.e. really fresh. Many years to go on my other bottles. (3352 views) | | | Tasted by alhun on 3/15/2013 & rated 90 points: value for money (4346 views) | | | Tasted by Strikermax on 12/25/2012: Uit dubbelmagnum. Na 4 uur in de karaf een ontzettend muffe geur, overheersend zuur in de mond. Ik was overtuigd van een gevalletje kurk.
2 dagen later, voordat de fles door de gootsteen gaat nog maar even een slokje proeven: de wijn heeft zich heel positief ontwikkeld. De zo typerende natte bosgrond en koeienstal komt naar boven. In de mond nu rijp zwart fruit, kruidigheid, leder, flinke zuren en enorme tannines.
Uit een normale fles doet deze wijn al vrij jong aan, uit dubbelmagnum kan je rustig nog 15 jaar wachten voordat dit mooi op dronk is. (3764 views) | | | Tasted by Zweder on 5/11/2012 & rated 91 points: Blood red with a slightly brown rim. Deep bouquet with black berry fruits like cassis and a touch of pleasant barnyard as well as cigar box. On the palate a full bodied, well balanced wine, loaded with black fruits, firm acidity and bitterness and also firm, but round tannin. It is a real beauty now, and it can last until 2016 or later. Overall a complex and firm wine. The tannat grape doesn't give it elegant finesse but it certainly deserves a 91 score. (4171 views) | | | Tasted by KellyM on 1/20/2012 & rated 93 points: K gave it 93 blind. Still drinking beautifully. Too bad it's the last bottle. (4156 views) | | | Tasted by Julian Marshall on 1/10/2012: After several disappointments with standard Brumont cuvées, this was a welcome return to form. Rich, intense, profound, concentrated cranberry and red currant, with a hint of yeast and leather, this will be at its best in 5 years time and last for at least 10 to 15 years. Very satisfying and tremendous value, the best VV since the 90. (3866 views) | | | Tasted by PSPatrick on 12/18/2011 & rated 88 points: The wine was purple towards ruby in colour. It offered red fruits, some blackberry, some blueberry, Coca Cola, coffee beans, cocoa, vanilla, sandalwood and clove on the nose. On the palate the wine was rustic, with dry, fine tannins, young blackberries, date, clove, a rusty nail component, and dry black tea leaves on the backend. The slightly bitter finish did not bother me, but might turn some people off. I liked the wine and would probably buy it again. It was consistently good over three days and is holding-up well; there is no need to hurry drinking up. (3019 views) | | | Tasted by Roel van Gestel on 5/31/2011 & rated 92 points: 100% tannat of 50-year old vines. Black, dark wine. Nose with barnyard, tobacco, licorice, plum, earth, blackberry and cedar. Palate with a lovely freshness, clay, blackberry, cinnamon, licorice, leather and ripe tannines towards the long finish. Exciting wine. Rough, deep, full. Not for the ones who look for elegance and refinement, more for those in need of something rougher than a St. Estephe. This will last for a long time. Yum! (2641 views) | | | Tasted by d'Artagnan on 1/23/2011 & rated 90 points: Dès l'ouverture, un nez explosif de mûres qui rappelle le fameux 1989, avec du cuir et un peu de goudron.
L'attaque en bouche est assez souple mais la suite ne manque pas de vigueur, on est bien à Madiran!
Un vin solide mais aimable, plein et goûteux, qui illustre bien la puissance maîtrisée qui caractérisent les meilleurs vins de Brumont.
Finale tout de même un peu rustique, encore assez tannique. Plusieurs années devant lui. Très bon à table avec un bœuf Bourguignon.
90 pts (3489 views) | | | Tasted by cisco on 12/12/2010 & rated 91 points: Nearing its peak. Medium to full bodied and medium acidity. Some fruit still present mostly on the darkish side. Secondary characteristics of tobacco and tea like flavors are also present. The wine is in fine balance but the mid-plate could be a bit fuller. Still, an excellent wine and good value when purchased 6 years ago. Drink within the next 3-5 years. (3908 views) | | | Tasted by Wicker Parker on 12/3/2010: I opened this years too early. The fruit is still primary and it was only on the third night open that the wine became more aromatically complex (lots of violets here). It's a big wine, dark as a moonless night, and of course tannic, but it's hardly brutish, and it has the acidity and the midpalate presence to go the distance. Not sure this will become elegant and/or particularly deep, but certainly it'll be more interesting in 5+ years as the secondary characteristics emerge. Requires meat. (3614 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Château Bouscassé Producer website
U.S. Importer (Addt'l Info)Tannat Varietal character (Appellation America) | Wikipedia
A southern French variety, it's most commonly found in the southwest part of the country near the Pyrenees. Characteristically, it has hard tannins, raspberry aromas, and a fair amount of astringency. Given those tannins, it's successful as the base for French roses, where tannins are minimized by little skin contact. In blends, particularly in California, Tannat adds bite to what might otherwise be flabby or soft wines resulting from overripe grapes.
Wine from the Tannat grape is typically rough and tannic when young, but with aging will mature into a full-bodied red wine. Modern winemaking in France (Madiran appellation) has begun to emphasize the fruit more and utilize barrel aging to help soften the tannins, with the wines typically spending about twenty months in oak prior to bottling.
The Tannat vine was introduced in Uruguay by Basque settlers in the 1870’s and began to flourish as it readily adapted to the local soil and climate. Today it is often blended with Pinot Noir and Merlot, and is made in a variety of styles including those reminiscent of Port and Beaujolais. Although considered Uruguay’s national grape, Tannat is also grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil and in Italy's Puglia region where it is used as a blending grape.
Tannat wines produced in Uruguay are usually lighter in body and lower in tannins than those from France. In France, efforts to solve the harsh tannic nature of this grape led to the development of the winemaking technique known as micro-oxygenation. Vineyards in Uruguay have begun to distinguish between the "old vines" that are descendants from the original European cuttings and the new clones introduced in the 1990’s. The newer vines tend to produce more powerful wines with higher alcohol levels but less acidity and complex fruit characteristics, although some wineries utilize both vines to make blends.
First brought to the US late in the 19th century by a UC Berkeley agricultural professor, Tannat plantings did not receive much attention until the 1990’s when California producers, most notably in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Paso Robles viticultural areas, began using it in blends with Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and Syrah. In 2002, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms formally recognized Tannat as a separate varietal.
In the vineyard, Tannat is one of the easiest varietals to grow, ripening late and being frost hardy. Unlike other varietals, it is not prone to overproduction and so does not require thinning. The grape’s berries have thick skins, which make it resistant to powdery mildew and botrytis, and which contributes to the varietals naturally high tannins. One notable difficulty with growing Tannat is its thick stems, which cling tightly to the berries and can be difficult to remove at harvest.
Tannat has significantly higher polyphenol content than other red grapes, making it the most bioactive variety with regards to oxidative reactions in food. Doctors have recommended Tannat as being the best wine grape for cardiopulmonary health because it contains a large amount of the antioxidant procyanidin, a chemical which helps bolster blood vessels and increase oxygen flow to red blood cells, ultimately helping to avert cardiovascular disease.
Tannat makes decidedly robust wines, with pronounced aromas of tobacco smoke, plum or ripe berries. The wines also tend to be dense purple-red in color, with significant tannins and a wonderfully spicy finish. Notable California producers include Bonny Doon Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Tablas Creek Vineyards in Paso Robles.Vieilles Vignes Old Vine/Vieilles Vignes (Wikipedia)France Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comSouthwest France Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Sud Ouest | Les vins du Tarn-et-Garonne on-lineMadiran Vin de Madiran (l'ESAT de Madiran)
The Madiran appellation is where red wines were born to go with magret and confit de canard. Alain Brumont is a master of this deep, dark-fruited, powerfully grippy style, the tannins melding satisfyingly with the fat of the meat. HT: |
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