It wasn’t the lure of fine bottles that first brought me to the Dordogne almost two decades ago.

This corner of southwest France promises medieval bastides, honey-coloured villages, culinary delicacies such as truffles and foie gras, and even vineyards, but as I mapped out my wine stops before my first trip to the region, it was Bordeaux – its famed neighbour to the west – that occupied most of my attention.

With the exception of Monbazillac, known for its noble sweet wines, Bergerac was hardly on my radar.

Little did I know I would end up falling for a region punching well above its weight. Bergerac offers remarkable value for money with excellent bottles for a fraction of what you’d pay for Bordeaux.

And things continue to improve as producers embrace fresher, more approachable styles while maintaining a commitment to quality and sustainability (roughly 35% of the vineyards are certified organic).

Bergerac: Rich in history

Spanning 10,500ha, Bergerac’s history dates back to Gallo-Roman times. Thanks to its prime position on the banks of the Dordogne river, wine trade flourished in the 13th century.

The region now counts seven sub-zones (Bergerac, Monbazillac, Côtes de Duras, Pécharmant, Montravel, Rosette and Saussignac) covering 10 APs, with everything from zesty whites to handsome reds.

Though predominantly planted with Bordeaux grape varieties, each appellation has its unique character and terroir.

Authentic and worth discovering

In and around the town of Bergerac, the pursuit of the French art de vivre is palpable, especially in summer when festivals and events spotlighting local producers are in full swing.

Whether you’re watching the sun set over Château de Monbazillac or revelling in enchanting landscapes as you cycle past vine-covered hillsides and pretty villages, there’s plenty to prove that this once-overlooked corner of France is an attractive wine destination in its own right.

Top experiences

Quai Cyrano

No better place to hit the ground running than at Quai Cyrano, which is equal parts wine shop, tourist office and wine bar, housed in an attractive building on the banks of the Dordogne in the centre of Bergerac town.

Come here to sample 140 wines (paired with cheese or charcuterie boards) from the different appellations, either on the panoramic riverfront terrace or in the peaceful 17th-century Récollets cloister.

Don’t miss the Rosé Party at the cloister on 10 July and the Rosette Night on the old port on 15 August.

Château de Monbazillac

Before sampling Monbazillac’s silky liquoreux (sweet) wines (perfect when served chilled as an aperitif or paired with a foie gras terrine), step back in time with a visit to the 16th-century castle where you can discover how the region’s golden nectar is made.

Just 15 minutes south of Bergerac, this remarkable historic monument also hosts art exhibitions and the much-anticipated Soirées Paradizillac.

Held every Thursday between 16 July and 13 August, these open-air concerts are a feast for the senses, with wine tastings, Monbazillac-based cocktails, charcuterie boards and spectacular sunsets.

Tickets should be booked in advance via the website.

Hop on a bike

The Monbazillac route is an easy loop through vineyards and small villages. Gentle hills make it a relaxed and scenic ride, ideal for casual cycling and sightseeing (approximately 24km, 2.5 hours).

A little more challenging, the six-hour (82km) Pays des Bastides route is well worth the effort.

You’ll pass by historic villages such as Beaumont, Cadouin, Belves and Monpazier.

Bikes can be rented through MBS Mobility Bike Solution, while Quai Cyrano can provide detailed information and assistance in mapping out the ultimate route.

Discover Duras

The welcoming village of Duras (about 40km southwest of Bergerac town) is well worth a visit.

Spend an afternoon strolling through the charming streets and exploring its 12th-century château before settling in for an aperitif at Chai et Rasade, known for excellent charcuterie and a cellar of more than 200 wines and spirits, including a small selection of Duras wines by the glass.

On Thursday evenings in summer, the village comes alive with its convivial night market, where you can enjoy regional food, wine, live music and dancing.

Must-visit wineries

Domaine du Haut-Pécharmant

If it’s age-worthy, structured reds you’re after, Pécharmant in the northeast has little to envy neighbouring Pomerol.

The south-facing slopes, with soils of gravel, sand and iron-rich clay, benefit from warmer, drier conditions, ideal for producing full-bodied wines with lots of elegance.

The Haut-Pécharmant Prestige cuvée (a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec) stands out for its complexity, concentrated fruit and supple, well-integrated tannins.

A natural partner for the region’s robust duck dishes, this wine can easily be kept for up to 15 years.

Château le Tap

In Saussignac, just west of Monbazillac and also known for excellent sweet wines, most winegrowers have rejected chemical farming.

Among them are Olivier and Mireille Roches of Château le Tap, a 15ha estate that has been fully organic since 2007.

Their Bergerac rosé, with aromas of succulent strawberries, delicate floral notes and a lingering minerality, is one to pour alongside duck charcuterie or a goat’s cheese tartine topped with macerated strawberries.

Château Puy-Servain

Montravel, in the far west of the region, on the right bank of the Dordogne, is home to some of the region’s finest whites, and Château Puy-Servain’s Marjolaine is a prime example of how expressive these wines can be.

Made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon planted on clay-limestone soils, this elegant cuvée is the brainchild of the spirited Daniel Hecquet (named Winemaker of the Year 2026 by the French publication Guide Hachette des Vins).

It merges freshness and citrus notes with floral aromas and a subtly textured mouthfeel thanks to five months in French oak.

Eating and drinking

Les Fresques

Located in Monestier, about 25 minutes from Bergerac, the Michelin one-star Les Fresques is part of a hotel set within the 16th-century Château des Vigiers. Chef Didier Casaguana’s artful dishes are matched by an extensive wine list with roughly 20 regional selections.

Try the signature oyster and caviar with Château Haut Bernasse’s Arcane cuvée. Made with a touch of Chenin, it opens with notes of white flowers, citrus and green apple.

Its creamy texture and subtle barrel-derived richness beautifully complement the fromage blanc sorbet, while its vibrant edge enhances the oyster’s salinity.

La Tour des Vents

Book a table on the terrace at Michelin one-star La Tour des Vents and order the three-course ‘Gourmand’ menu (€75) – with wine pairings (€53) if you’re feeling indulgent – while taking in sweeping views over the lush countryside.

A standout dish is the roast pigeon supreme, served with crispy leg, truffled Jerusalem artichoke purée, Brussels sprout leaves and reduction jus.

Pair it with Domaine Albert de Conti’s Côtes de Bergerac Chez Paul, a structured Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of violets, black fruits and fine, dusty tannins.

Le Chamoine

For something a little more budget-friendly, Le Chamoine (a two-minute walk from Quai Cyrano) serves classic Périgord cuisine, including magret and other duck dishes, alongside African-inspired specials such as a hearty Senegalese poulet mafé and even excellent fish and chips.

There’s also a small but thoughtfully curated selection of Bergerac wines.

L’Anthonnoir

Owner, sommelier and Bergerac native Anthony Guire offers more than 130 wines by the glass (including a good selection of Bergerac wines) served with cheese and charcuterie platters.

Where to stay

Les Gabarres apartment

You’ll feel like a local when you rent this bright apartment right in the centre of town.

It’s a treat to cook with fresh local produce from the Wednesday or Saturday morning market in the spacious kitchen, complete with a large island where you can sip wine while taking in the gorgeous views of the Dordogne.

Château les Merles

Tucked between the vineyards and just a 15-minute drive from Bergerac’s centre, this four-star hotel also offers apartments, villas and even a golf course.

At the gastronomic restaurant, chef Bas Holten cooks dishes with organic produce from his vegetable garden.

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Cahors is undergoing a quiet revolution.

This beautiful part of southwest France – renowned in the past for sturdy, traditional, long-lived, dark-coloured red wines – is benefiting from a new wave of independent winemakers who are applying the latest approaches to viticulture and vinification to the complex geology of the Lot valley.

Today, there are many different styles coming out of Cahors, famed as the home of the Malbec grape. They range from bright, fruit-focused, early-drinking wines to those capable of extended ageing.

Rustic tannins and the heavy use of oak have been replaced with a defter touch, and alternative maturation vessels such as amphorae, acacia wood and limestone tanks are now much more in evidence.

Scroll down to see Andy Howard MW’s notes and scores for 12 very special Cahors wines

Cahors’ double-edged sword

Cahors is unusual for a French wine region, given its reliance on a single appellation and wine style (dry red), combined with the dominance of Malbec, known locally as Côt, or Auxerrois or Pessac.

By whichever name, the grape is perhaps Cahors’ greatest strength, yet also a major weakness.

Driven by the popularity of weighty, deep-coloured, fruit-driven wines from Mendoza in Argentina, ‘Brand Malbec’ is now so strong that it’s understandable that many consumers expect the wines of Cahors to be similar in style.

Although a few estates in Cahors have attempted to mimic the Mendoza Malbec style, the complexity of geology, soil types and winemaking philosophies is now resulting in a diversity of exciting, vibrant and good-value wines.

A recent blind tasting (see recommendations, below) revealed that it would be far too simplistic to label a particular estate as ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’.

Many produce a range of wines that display the full breadth of styles that the Côt of Cahors can provide.

A question of terroir

The Cahors region is located on the southwestern edge of the Massif Central, lying to the east of the greater Bordeaux region.

The dominant geological features here are the alluvial terraces of the meandering Lot valley, and the limestone plateau that rises on either side of this river valley.

The evolution of the latter’s many graceful curves has resulted in a variety of soil types.

The first terrace, lying closest to the river, is home to young, fertile soils, often dominated by sand, which promote fruity, early-drinking wines.

The second terrace, composed of shallower soils with pebbles and clay, produces wines with more intensity; while the third terrace combines clay-silica soil with a higher proportion of limestone as elevations increase.

The terraces range from 90m to 250m; above them (up to 350m) lie the vineyards on the limestone plateau (causse).

Here, a greater proportion of Kimmeridgian clay marls results in wines that show freshness and minerality, while pockets of iron-rich clay add power and weight.

Yet the blind tasting also showed that it’s misleading to pigeonhole a wine simply on the basis of soil type.

It’s the complex interplay of the different elements of terroir that generates the wide variety that Cahors offers.

Red sands

Sébastien Bernède (above, vice president of the Cahors wine syndicate, as well as winemaker at the substantial 100ha estate Clos La Coutale) proudly highlights some of his vineyards situated on red sand.

‘These are soils from the Massif Central, just like those of Château Rayas [in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the southern Rhône],’ he says. ‘Like Rayas, you can make great wines here on sand.’

While Clos La Coutale is a relatively traditional estate, a striking contrast is provided by the youthful figure of Fabien Jouves at Mas del Périé (pictured, below). His estate is located high on the limestone plateau southwest of the town of Cahors.

Jouves is viewed as a champion of natural wines, but even this label is far too simplistic. Mas del Périé produces wines with immediacy and freshness, combined with depth of colour and lingering purity.

One of the lightest wines tasted (Jouves’ Les Acacias; see recommendations) comes from 40-year-old Côt vines on limestone-rich soil interspersed with deposits of iron, and combines power with drinkability, yet is only 11.5% alcohol.

Historical presence

Cahors has been a significant wine-producing region since the Middle Ages, often commanding a higher reputation for its wines than those of Bordeaux.

Deep in colour, the wines were revered in the UK, as well as by Pope John XXII – a native of the Lot.

Subsequently, Cahors became associated with the name ‘black wine’ – a reference to a time when grapes were baked in ovens for concentration, before being blended to bolster paler, lighter wines.

The region prospered for several centuries before increasing commercial pressure from Bordeaux merchants and cheaper wines from the Midi region compromised the wine trade.

In the late 19th century, phylloxera ravaged the region, a calamity from which it didn’t recover for 100 years.

What could have been the final straw came with the great frost of February 1956, which almost completely destroyed what was left of the vines. In the subsequent replanting, Côt’s dominance increased.

Following the granting of AP status in 1971, Cahors maintained its reputation for structured, sturdy, long-lived red wines that spend considerable time in oak and require lengthy bottle ageing.

Under the AP rules, wines must be made from at least 70% Côt; Merlot and Tannat are also permitted, the latter adding further concentration.

Today, most of the top wines are 100% Côt, still with plenty of depth of colour, a violet-driven perfume and flavours of blackberry and cherry.

The change-bringers

Initially driven by inspirational producers such as Jean-Luc Baldès of Clos Triguedina, as well as significant investment from outsiders such as Alain-Dominique Perrin (Château Lagrézette), the quality of Cahors has been on a steep upward curve for several decades.

This process has been accelerated with the arrival of a new wave of winemakers. Benoît Aymard (pictured, above) is a typical example.

Since taking over as the third generation at the 14ha Domaine Clos d’Audhuy in 2014 he has transformed the estate’s approach in terms of viticulture, winemaking and marketing. In 2018, a new gravity-fed winery was installed.

Aymard says: ‘The old Côt clones were high-yielding and lower in quality. Since 2015, we’ve planted six new clones with more open bunches, small berries, lower yields and higher quality.’

His focus is on individual parcel vinification, the estate’s varied terroir and low intervention.

Clos d’Audhuy’s La-O (see recommendations) stands out, with its intense, linear palate demonstrating the high limestone content of this vineyard. Cuvée Clos d’Audhuy displays a more traditional approach, with two years maturation in barrel.

Meanwhile, On a Pris le Temps combines the best parcels from both, producing a rich yet serious Côt on a par with the region’s best.

Cahors at a glance

Planted area: 3,323ha (2020, Vins de Cahors)

Producers: 220 independent winegrowers, one cooperative

Classification: Became an AP in 1971

Restrictions: Only red wine permitted; minimum 70% Côt (aka Auxerrois/ Pessac/Malbec), with up to 30% Merlot/Tannat; maximum yield 50hl/ha

Average annual rainfall: About 750mm

Newer arrivals

At Château Famaey and Château les Croisille, a younger generation is in charge, albeit with fewer traditional winemaking links to the Cahors region.

In 2007, Belgian Maarten Luyckx (pictured, below) took over from his father Luc at Château Famaey in Puy l’Evêque, where he creates a range of styles.

‘We are focused on sustainability – respect for the vines and nature is at the core of what we do,’ says Luyckx.

Famaey’s Cuvée F is aged in ovoid vats, allowing further micro-oxygenation to promote fruit characters. Cuvée X – a 2023 DWWA Platinum medal winner with its 2022 vintage, produced from the same plots – spends two years in new oak barrels.

Le Grez is aged in clay amphorae to emphasise the imprint of the clay-rich vineyards.

From plots on the pebbly second terrace, L’Impression is unoaked – it’s aged for 12 months in concrete vats ‘to emphasise fruit and silkiness’, says Luyckx.

Château les Croisille is located north of the Lot, on the causse. The Croisille family started as grape-growers in 1979 before creating an estate that produces its own wines.

Brothers Germain and Simon are now pushing the estate to greater heights.

Cuvée Silice (from silica-rich clay-iron soils, see recommendations) is aged in concrete, which contrasts with Calcaire, which is aged in foudres for 15 months.

Divin is a blend from the best plots of the estate’s sand, clay and limestone soils, and Le Grain is a micro-cuvée aged in demi-muids for two years.

Both are complex, ageworthy Côts that would more than hold their own against the best of Argentina’s Malbecs.

Modern outlook

The iconic Clos Triguedina estate – which lays claim to being the first to produce an AP Cahors from 100% Malbec – continues to be a standard bearer.

In 2023, Jean-Luc and Sabine Baldès passed the baton to their daughter Juliette (pictured, below) after she trained in New Zealand, Spain, Argentina and Italy.

She’s focused on a better understanding of Triguedina’s complex geology, soil types and the influence of elevation, while continuing the estate’s drive to respect both nature and tradition.

Triguedina’s top wine is Probus (see recommendations), paying homage to the eponymous Roman Emperor who replanted vines in the Quercy region during the 3rd century.

Produced from 100-year-old vines on the third terraces, this is a selection from the best parcels and continues to set a benchmark for AP Cahors.

Intriguingly, within a red wine-only appellation, Triguedina is making an elegant white wine (labelled under IGP Comté Tolosan) from Viognier and Chardonnay planted on the highest terraces.

There’s also a fine rosé (aged in acacia barrels), while its New Black Wine is a clever reference to the wines produced several centuries ago, using a disused prune oven to gently heat and dry some of the grapes, yet delivering a much more sophisticated wine than its historical counterpart.

The wines of Cahors are certainly changing.

A new generation is at play, producing the full gamut of wines, from fruit-driven to structured. New oak is being toned down with increased use of larger oak casks, amphorae and alternative maturation vessels.

Combine all this with the complex geology of the Lot valley, together with many keenly priced wines, and Cahors looks to be a very exciting source of fine Côt/Malbec wines.

If you want to better understand the terroirs and topography of Cahors, there’s an excellent video on the Vins de Cahors website

Cahors to the fore: Howard’s pick of 12 to try

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Wildfires have been reported across Europe amid extreme heat warnings, and a ferocious blaze that began last week in the Aude department of southern France has left one person dead, more than 20 injured and burned more than 17,000 hectares of land. 

Some winemakers in the Corbières area reported severe damage from the Aude fire. It’s now contained, amid media speculation about whether a cigarette butt could have sparked France’s largest wildfire in more than 70 years.

‘My vineyard is 90% destroyed,’ said vigneron Sophie Guiraudon, of organic Clos de l’Anhel in the village of Montlaur, close to where the blaze began.

‘I have lost about nine hectares [out of] 10 hectares of vines,’ she told Decanter.

While her bergerie building survived, trees and hedges planted by Guiraudon since arriving in Corbières in 2000 are gone. ‘All the landscape is just black, without life. I have thought about cicadas, birds, insects…’

She described a mix of emotions ranging from initial disbelief to anger and then a ‘deep malaise’, but was thankful for ‘amazing’ messages of support from friends and trade professionals.

Wine cooperative Cellier des Demoiselles in St-Laurent de la Cabrerisse said 80% of its vines were affected. 

‘Some were more than 60 or 70 years old, a unique wine heritage that cannot be replaced,’ said the cooperative, founded in 1914, on a funding page created via the On Participe website to help protect the livelihoods of around 40 families. 

Initial estimates suggested around 800 to 900 hectares of vines were inside the fire perimeter, although a full damage assessment wasn’t yet available. 

Another 400 to 500 hectares could be affected by smoke, said Jean-Marie Fabre, president of the Vignerons Indépendants de France trade association, but he added final figures could be lower.

Fabre, who’s Domaine de la Rochelierre is only a few kilometres from the fire zone, visited winemakers last week and told Decanter he couldn’t recall seeing a fire of such ‘magnitude, violence and speed’. Many firefighters were saying the same thing. 

Fabre also spoke of producers’ pre-existing difficulties.

Yields in recent vintages have been curtailed by climatic conditions, notably drought, even if the quality of many wines has been strong – as noted by Natalie Earl, Decanter’s regional editor for France, in a comprehensive Languedoc tasting report. 

Fabre said signs of a promising 2025 crop, with yields approaching more normal levels, ‘gave a lot of hope to winemakers who had experienced a difficult three years’. For some, those hopes have been dashed.

Yet, this is a relatively large region. Despite reports of ash falling over the nearby city of Narbonne last week, some wineries away from the immediate fire zone were still hopeful for the 2025 vintage.

Picking has begun at Fabre’s Domaine de la Rochelierre in Fitou and he reported ‘very good quality’ fruit, despite initial concerns about smoke. He added, though, ‘We must wait until we have vinified everything to confirm that we don’t have any smoke impact.’

The Corbières AOC appellation body described the blaze as a ‘nightmare’ and thanked fire crews for their hard work.

Posting on Instagram, it cited other fires that have affected wine country this year and said summer 2025 will be etched in memory as the ‘summer of hell’. But, it expressed the community’s determination to rebuild and rise again.

Fabre said he was in contact with government officials regarding urgent aid to help affected winemakers get through the coming year. 

‘If we are capable of giving them these means, I remain convinced that [this is] one of the finest wine regions in France.’

Meeting the climate challenge

Looking further ahead, Fabre said the French government must understand the climatic changes affecting the nation, and particularly Languedoc-Roussillon, and help producers in their efforts to meet the challenge. 

If not, he warned that in 10 or 15 years it might be too late to turn back, but he added, ‘I am optimistic.’ 

There has also been debate about whether uprooting vineyards has contributed to wildfires spreading more easily, particularly as the French government has returned to the policy of compensating growers to grub-up, to curb overproduction.

Fabre said it’s true that vineyards can act as firebreaks, but he said the debate misses the point.

Changing consumer tastes are a key prompt for growers choosing to uproot in France, and in Languedoc a primary reason is the economic realities of lower yields linked to climate change, he noted. ‘When the vineyard earns you less money than it costs to produce, at some point one has to stop.’ 

Wildfires in Europe and US

Wildfires were burning in other parts of Europe, although it wasn’t clear if vineyards had been impacted. In July, vineyards in parts of Cyprus were reportedly damaged in a large blaze, reported the Cyprus Mail.

On the US west coast, wine officials in central California were monitoring the large Gifford fire.

Further north, the Burdoin fire on the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge has burned more than 4,400 hectares (11,000 acres).

Syncline Winery, in Lyle, reported damage. ‘The fire burned through about six acres (2.4 hectares) of vineyard,’ said Syncline vigneron and cofounder James Mantone via email. ‘About 1/2 – 3/4 acres are most likely dead, as these were mostly young vines and didn’t have the mass to resist the fire.’ 

He added, ‘We expect the entirety of our estate fruit to be smoke impacted. We will be sending out for laboratory testing on the affected vines later this week and next.’

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What kind of wine is made from Tannat?

Red wines made from the Tannat grape variety are classically deep-hued and intense with a lush kernel of black fruit, from plums to black cherry and cassis.

They are also generally wrapped in plenty of tannins that can range from bold to fine-grained and supple, with decisions in the vineyard and the cellar resulting in varying styles.

Scroll down to see tasting notes & scores for 15 top Tannat wines

Balance is always the key, though, and some of the best recent examples integrate the grape variety’s tannin content with natural acidity and bright fruit.

You can also find Tannat being used to make rosé wines, as well as in blends alongside other grape varieties.

Decanter‘s US editor, Clive Pursehouse, enjoyed discovering this pét-nat wine produced from 100% Tannat in Oregon, too. ‘The palate is lively, fresh and delicate,’ he wrote last year.

Madiran

In Madiran, Tannat’s traditional heartland of south-west France, you might find Tannat blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Cabernet Franc.

Producers have been working with ways to manage tannin content in the wines to ensure a harmonious balance with other elements, according to the region’s wine body.

Lauded wine producer Alain Brumont is known for pioneering a new wave of pure Tannat wines in Madiran, launching his Château Montus Prestige in 1985.

Yohan Castaing tasted several vintages at a Montus and La Tyre vertical in 2022, including the 2000.

‘A gorgeously fleshy mouthfeel, brimming with energy, lengthening a finish that consolidates its profound substance but also reveals surprising subtlety and delicacy. This vintage joins the ranks of the great ones,’ Castaing wrote.

It’s possible to make lighter styles of Tannat varietal wines, too. This cooperative-made Madiran is 90% Tannat and shows a ‘lighter touch’ with supple tannins yet opulent fruit, according to Decanter’s Stephen Brook.

This Plaimont, Château de Crouseilles wine is 100% Tannat. It’s ‘robust, brooding and tannic enough to pair well with full-flavoured meat dishes, but has plenty of ripe dark fruit to balance the power’, said Decanter’s Amy Wislocki. 

Tannat in Uruguay: A new ‘Malbec’ story?

Uruguay has been making a name for itself with fascinating styles of Tannat.

Patricio Tapia also wrote about the diversity of Tannat wines in the country in an Expert’s Choice article on Uruguay for Decanter magazine in 2023.

In Canelones, he wrote, ‘clay and chalk soils offer much more austere and monolithic versions of Tannat – wines that perhaps lack the fruity explosion of their Maldonado counterparts, but which still develop in the bottle like few other reds in South America.’

Jane Anson wrote in 2017 that Uruguay was the only country to have taken in Tannat as its national grape, a move that inevitably invites comparisons with how Argentina reimagined Malbec.

‘Estates like Bodega Garzon – located in a coastal village of the same name, close to Punta del Este by coincidence – have produced a more contemporary-styled version that is helping to smooth Tannat’s image of rustic, hard tannins in international markets,’ Anson wrote.

Tannat wines around the world

You’ll also find the grape variety in some other parts of the wine world, including the US.

This example from Michael Shaps in Virginia balances a tannic, full-bodied palate with lively acidity, wrote Lauren Mowery for Decanter last year.

In South Africa, wine writer Malu Lambert enjoyed this 100% Tannat from Lowerland Wines: ‘Soft and supple from 10 months’ ageing in older oak, the palate bursts with black cherries and blackcurrants.’

See tasting notes and scores for 15 top Tannat wines

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Nothing could have prepared me for the vision that appeared in the dining room of Domaine Balthazar in Carcassonne, that Sunday lunchtime in 2008. As a food and travel writer, I’d journeyed all the way from New York City to write a simple article on the history of cassoulet. I thought I would meet a chef, taste some beans and head home.

Instead, a group of ‘Oompa-Loompas’ in red robes and matching berets emerged carrying a stretcher wrapped in red and gold silk on which sat two gargantuan clay pots that sent clouds of caramelised steam wafting straight into my nose. Singing in what I would later discover to be the ancient Occitan language, the men and women proceeded slowly towards the table.

One forkful of this magical bubbly concoction and I was transported back to the mini Downton Abbey I grew up in near Lake Geneva. It didn’t make any sense. It would take more than 10 years for me to uncover the reasons behind what would become a true obsession with cassoulet. Over time, I wrote about the pots, I wrote about the chefs and the Académie Universelle du Cassoulet (!), I wrote about the meats, the herbs and, yes, about the beans as well.

But then I realised that the stew was the thread that led me to face my childhood, my family’s heritage, and its dramatic history. Finally, I was able to confront one of the primal questions that keep all of us up at night: Where’s home?

Gateway cassoulet recipe

I will probably get a lot of flak for this recipe. ‘What?! You’ve taken us through this entire exercise and now you’re giving us a recipe that is not authentic?’ I know, I know, but I call it ‘gateway’ for a reason.

As a nice entry-level weekday cassoulet, this is not bad. Try it, tweak it, double it for your friends, and then, when you are ready, go on and tackle the real thing!

Serves 2

Preparation time 40 mins

Cooking time 2.5 hours

Ingredients

• 500g dried cannellini beans or other large white beans
• 350g fresh pork belly with skin, cut into 3cm cubes
• 1 tbsp duck fat
• 200g fresh pork sausage, cut into 5cm-long pieces
• 2 confit duck legs
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 8 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 parsley sprig (leaves only)
• 3 thyme sprigs (leaves only)
• 1⁄2 tbsp salt
• 1⁄4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• freshly ground black peppe
• 1 litre shop-bought chicken stock

Method

1. Rinse the beans thoroughly, then soak for at least 2 hours but no longer than 12 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F/gas 3.

3. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water. Fill a 4-litre Dutch oven (a cast iron casserole dish) with water and bring to a boil. Blanch the beans in the boiling water for 7 minutes, then drain and run under cold water again. Set aside in a bowl.

4. In a blender, combine the onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and 60ml of water. Purée until smooth.

5. In the Dutch oven, sear the pork belly cubes over a medium heat until browned on all sides – about 5 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning. Remove and set aside.

6. Melt the duck fat in the Dutch oven over a medium heat, then cook the sausage, stirring frequently until brown – about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage, set aside, then add the duck legs, sear for about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. Add the garlic/onion purée and reduce heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly and scraping any pieces of meat stuck to the bottom.

7. Add the purée to the beans, along with the carrot, and mix until well-coated.

8. Transfer about one-third of the bean mix to the Dutch oven, enough to cover the bottom.

9. Layer the pork belly over the beans, then the sausages. Finally, place the duck legs on top and cover with the remaining beans. Season with the nutmeg and a good grind of pepper. Add just enough stock to cover the beans, and reserve any remaining stock to add during the cooking process.

10. Bake uncovered until the cassoulet comes to a simmer on the sides and a crust begins to form – about 40 minutes. Reduce the heat to 150°C/300°F/gas 2) and cook for 1 hour 45 minutes, checking regularly to break the crust with the back of a spoon and ensure that the cassoulet remains moist. Add stock or water if necessary.

11. Remove the cassoulet from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar was born in Switzerland and lives in New York City. She has written for a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine and Le Figaro. Bigar also co-authored chef Daniel Boulud’s definitive cookbook Daniel: My French Cuisine. Her book Cassoulet Confessions was published in September 2022 and is available through Amazon UK.

The wines to drink with Gateway cassoulet

Cassoulet is hearty, there’s no getting away from it – so do you go for a refreshing counterpoint or a wine with equal heft? It will probably depend on your personal taste and the time of day – or day of the week – you’re serving it. If it’s a midweek choice, I’d be inclined to go for a lighter red, and maybe something more robust for a Sunday lunch or a cold winter’s night. The southwest of France, where cassoulet originates, offers both. My favourite pairing is Marcillac, which tends to be lighter, but you could go for a Madiran or an old-school Cahors rather than the sweet-fruited style that mimics Argentinian Malbec. Southern Rhône and Languedoc blends of Grenache and Syrah – especially the latter – also work well, or even a natural, maybe biodynamic, Bordeaux. Looking beyond the region I’d also be happy with a Mencía from neighbouring Spain or, frankly, even a Rioja. White? Not for me, but an earthy white Grenache/Garnacha would do the job.

By Fiona Beckett

Wines selected by the Decanter team

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The southwest is a beautiful region of France, much loved by visitors from many countries and one seeming to hold even greater affection for those from the UK and Ireland.

Yet, despite the region’s relative proximity and popularity as a tourist destination, the wines of the Southwest have a low profile back home – a great pity given the region’s cornucopia of terroirs, huge range of unusual grape varieties and wine styles, and inspirational winemakers.

Scroll down to check out Andy Howard’s top 10 wines of Southwest France

In a recent article, leading wine writer and judge Andrew Jefford posed some questions. ‘What is France’s greatest undiscovered wine region? Where do you find the greatest value for money in French wine? Where would you look around France to find potential fine wine quality at affordable prices? Three questions from me and the same answer to each: Southwest France.’

So, what is it that makes the southwest such a rich source of alternative, great value and high-quality wines? Essentially the southwest is a region shaped by both similarity and diversity. Similarities include the influence of the maritime climate driven from the Atlantic Ocean; the unremittingly beautiful countryside ranging from the foothills of the Pyrenees to the limestone Causses of the Tarn, Dordogne and Lot; the influence of major, westward flowing rivers; and historical factors – most importantly the legacy of the Romans, the influence of the Church, trade and the effects of phylloxera.

Another unifying factor is the presence of rare, often unique, grape varieties. Only found in Southwest France are Prunelart, Duras, Len de l’El, Lauzet, Camaralet, Verdanel, and Raffiat de Moncade, with Ondenc, Negrette, Arrufiac, Petit Manseng and Abouriou on the ‘almost’ exclusive list. The Agence de Développement Économique Région Occitanie (AD’OCC) describes the southwest as ‘a reservoir of diversity with over 300 varieties of grape, 120 of which are indigenous’.

Diversity is seen in the varying size of the region’s appellations. Bergerac, Gaillac, Cahors and Madiran are the largest, whilst Irouléguy and Marcillac are a tenth of the size. Even smaller (and hardly ever seen in France, let alone the UK) are the tiny appellations of Saint-Sardos, Côtes du Millau, Entraygues-Le-Fel and Estaing – the last two covering just 18ha and 14ha.

Underlying rock structure and soils also contribute to the variety of styles in the southwest, with iron oxide rich soils in Marcillac (Aveyron), limestone influences in the Dordogne, Lot and Tarn, and red sandstone in the Pyrenees.

The southwest can be roughly divided into seven parts – the hilly areas of the Aveyron (Marcillac), the Tarn (Gaillac), Toulousain (Fronton), the Lot (Cahors), Dordogne (Bergerac), Gascony (Saint-Mont/Madiran/Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh), and the Pyrenees (Irouléguy/Jurançon).

Around the regions

Marcillac is a small (c.200ha) AOP and produces distinctive, individual wines. Located in the Aveyron, close to Rodez, almost 90% of production is red wine from the Braucol grape (also known as Pinenc in Gascony and Fer Servadou in other areas). Although found through much of the southwest, here it is known as Mansois, where it thrives on iron-oxide rich soils (rougiers) with spicy, liquorice and blackcurrant notes, allied with firm tannins and a slightly wild edge.

Gaillac, a significant appellation in terms of area (2,500ha) with annual production close to 40 million bottles, is one of France’s most ancient vineyards, with evidence of a thriving wine-trade dating back to the second-century BC. Red wine accounts for around 60% of production, with white and rosé 25% and 15%. Gaillac has an impressive range of appellations covering red, rosé and dry whites (the latter with the additional, higher, designation of Gaillac Premières Cotes); the slightly spritzy Perlé, excellent sweet wines ranging from doux to moelleux; a carbonic maceration Gamay Primeur sold in November; and two sparkling wines – Méthode Traditionelle and what used to be known as Méthode Gaillacoise (now Ancestrale). The latter, like Clairette de Die in Limoux, is produced by a single fermentation in bottle, with less pressure, lower alcohol and more sweetness than twice-fermented sparkling.

The Gaillac vignoble splits into three main zones, with the Premières Cotes on steep slopes to the north of the Tarn, above which lies the limestone dominated plateau leading towards the famous hill-top town of Cordes. The other significant area is the left bank where alluvial deposits dominate with graves, a pebbly soil mixed with clay on a chalky subsoil. The finest producer here is Domaine Rotier, with Alain Rotier being one of the key winemakers driving the rise in quality of one of Gaillac’s exclusive varieties – Len de l’El (aka Loin de l’Oeil).

Gaillac is a hunting-ground for a large number of the Southwest’s unique varieties. Like Len de l’El, Verdanel is an exclusive white grape with tiny production, whilst Ondenc (with small plantings in Australia) produces very fine sweet wines such as Domaine Plageoles Vin d’Autun. The red Duras and Prunelard (or Prunelart) are only found in Gaillac, with the latter of interest being one of the parents of Malbec.

An hour north-west of Gaillac lies Cahors, an important appellation which has only started to fully recover in the past few decades from the ravages of phylloxera. Only reds are permitted within the AOP with Malbec (known locally as Auxerrois or Côt) being the key variety, supported by Merlot and Tannat. Cahors was renowned for its ‘black’ wine in the past but this was a misnomer as that wine was actually a heated, concentrated, distilled wine of dubious quality.

Today there is an increasing number of high-quality domaines ranging from older, established producers (Clos Triguedina/Château du Cèdre) to relative newcomers to the area (Château Chambert/Château Lagrézette). Cahors wines are deep in colour with intriguing violet and herbal aromas and spicy, meaty notes on the palate. Malbec here is very different to that found in Mendoza, with many producers adapting their style to benefit from the Malbec ‘brand’ through better management of tannins and extracting more ripeness of fruit, whilst still retaining the wilder, individual, side of Malbec from the Causses.

An hour south of Cahors, heading towards Toulouse, one enters the territory of another intriguing grape – Negrette. This area is the Toulousain and its primary appellation Fronton. Like Gaillac, winemaking in Fronton dates back to Roman times. Negrette is reputed to have been brought to the area from Cyprus by the Knights of Saint John, although more recent studies suggest it is related to Auxerrois. The grape is proving highly successful as a dark coloured, fruit-driven, early-drinking red which retains plenty of floral notes and supple juiciness. Negrette is also leading a rapidly developing rosé sector, very popular in the bars of Toulouse.

Covering around 13,000ha and with 13 appellations, the extended Bergerac vineyard is by some way the largest wine region in the southwest. Perhaps due to its proximity and historical trading links Bergerac seems more orientated to Bordeaux, often being (incorrectly) viewed as a satellite appellation. It is true that grape varieties are more closely aligned with Bordeaux, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon much more common than other Southwest vineyards, but there is plenty to interest the wine-enthusiast here.

Bergerac is a source of great value, good quality dry wines, with Pécharmant a specific, high-quality red wine AOP to the east of the region, benefiting from a mineral-rich subsoil. Bergerac is perhaps most well-known for its wonderful sweet wines, from Haut-Montravel, Rosette, Saussignac and Monbazillac. Unlike many other Southwest vineyards, botrytis thrives here, often yielding stunning results and some amazing sweet wine values.

Gascony is the large region situated south of Bordeaux, west of Toulouse and stretching as far south as the Pyrenees. It is the source for the single biggest IGP in the southwest – Côtes de Gascogne – which covers over 13,500ha with 85% of production dry white wines based around Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Gros Manseng. Gascony is also home to some important appellations – Saint Mont, Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh.

Names to look out for:

Marcillac

Domaine du Cros, Domaine Matha

Gaillac

Robert Plageoles, Domaine de Brin, Domaine Rotier, L’Enclos des Rozes, Domaine d’Escausses

Cahors

Château du Cèdre, Clos Triguedina, Château de Lagrézette, Clos de Gamot

Fronton

Vinovalie

Bergerac/Pecharmant

Domaine de l’Ancienne Cure, Château Tours de Gendres, Château de Tiregand

Monbazillac/Saussignac

Tirecul-La-Gravière

Saint-Mont

Producteurs Plaimont

Madiran/Pacerenc du Vic-Bilh

Château Montus/Bouscassé, Château D’Aydie, Domaine Capmartin, Lafite-Teston, Domaine du Crampilh

Irouléguy

Domaine Ilarria, Domaine Arretxea

Jurançon

Domaine Cauhapé, Clos Lapèyre

Saint Mont is an AOP producing very distinctive wines, with many UK supermarkets stocking a blend made by Producteurs Plaimont. This significant, quality-focussed co-operative has been responsible for putting many of the wines of Southwest France on the map, with much of this down to the vision and leadership of André Dubosc. Saint Mont only came about through the drive of Dubosc, achieving AOP status in 2011 for red, white and rosé wines, mostly using blends of unusual varieties, and all offering great value. Arrufiac is a key component of many of the best whites, adding delicate aromas and finesse to Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu, with reds dominated by Pinenc (Fer Servadou) along with Tannat, both Cabernets and Merlot.

André Dubosc may have put Gascony and Saint Mont on the viticultural map but another individual – Alain Brumont (Chateau Bouscassé/Montus) – did the same for Madiran. This is one of the southwest’s most intriguing wines – dominated by Tannat and with a reputation for full-bodied wines capable of (and sometimes needing) long ageing. Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc are used in most blends with the latter’s fruitiness perhaps a better foil for Tannat than the more austere Sauvignon. Despite their vin de garde reputation, modern Madiran’s are often approachable in their youth, displaying intriguing floral notes and rounded tannins. As well as the Brumont wines, excellent Madiran is produced by Chateau d’Aydie, Domaine Capmartin and Labranche-Laffont.

Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh is a white-only wine appellation covering the same area as Madiran. Traditionally the wines were sweet (and of high quality) but today there is also a dry white AOP labelled as Pacherenc Sec. Much of the character and quality of both sweet and dry whites is down to the grape varieties – Arrufiac, Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng. The latter has thick skins and can remain on the vine until late in the Autumn, encouraging the production of fine sweet wines.

Further south, one approaches the wines of the Basque country and the Pyrenees. Irouléguy is primarily a red wine produced from Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc, and today covers 230ha. Soils here are reddish sandstone, mixed with alluvial deposits washed down from the mountains. Low-yields and manual labour in the vineyard add to the price of the wines, but they are worth seeking out for their individuality. Top producers include Domaine Ilarria and Arretxea.

Jurançon is located south of Pau and produces sweet and dry whites based around Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, Petit Courbu and two rare varieties – Lauzet and Camaralet. Jurançon produces high-quality wines – with the rulers of Béarn the first in France to introduce the concept of ‘cru’ to designate quality in the C13. The climate here is unusual with wet springs enabling water reserves to replenish, with combining with long, dry summers and autumn allowing for the development of fine vendanges tardives sweet wines. As with Pacherenc, dry Jurançon wines must be labelled ‘Sec’. Domaine Cauhapé and Clos Lapèyre are two of the leading producers.

It’s simply impossible to characterise and describe the wines of the southwest as one, given the variety of unusual grapes, diverse terroirs and dynamic producers all adding to a pot-pourri of wines which really emphasise a ‘sense of place’. Individuality is the key, with consumers best option being to explore as many different areas as possible. Unfortunately, with the exception of Bergerac, Côtes de Gascogne and Saint-Mont, relatively few wines are available outside their local areas but, if you get the opportunity to search them out, you won’t be disappointed.

Andy Howard MW’s 10 best wines of southwest France

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Buying a wine estate or vineyard in the south of France has understandable appeal, not least the promise of limitless sunshine and call of the Mediterranean coast.

Making wine is not an endeavour to be undertaken lightly, but where do most deals take place, and what sort of prices should you expect if it’s something you’re considering?

It is a huge area; there are 200,000 to 220,000 hectares of vines in Languedoc-Roussillon alone, plus 60,000ha in the Rhône Valley and nearly 27,000ha in Provence, according to Aurélia Mistral-Bernard, based at the Montpellier office of estate agency network Vinea Transaction.

Prices vary considerably, from €10,000 per hectare of vines on average in the Côtes du Roussillon close to the Spanish border to more than €1m per hectare in the far north of the Rhône Valley, up in Côte-Rôtie, show the latest figures from French land agency Safer.

As Adam Dakin, director of Montpellier-based estate agency Wine Objectives, puts it, ’10 hectares in Corbières [Languedoc] will cost around €100,000, in Pic-St-Loup [near Montpellier] it could be €700,000 and in Châteauneuf-du-Pape you could pay €500,000 per hectare, so it would be €5m.’

In the Rhône, Mistral-Bernard said that the northern Rhône appellations are almost ‘completely closed’ to non-trade buyers, but that ‘Ventoux, Luberon and generic Côtes du Rhône are very accessible [at] around €20,000 per hectare.’

Which vineyard areas have seen a lot of activity?

Dakin said that wine lovers’ thirst for rosé wines means that ‘Provence has been absolutely booming’ in terms of vineyard interest.

Land towards the coast tends to be more expensive, but you can still pick up vineyards for around €70,000 per hectare in the upper parts of the Var, he said.

Both Dakin and Mistral-Bernard highlighted healthy demand in some of the newer, up-and-coming appellations in Languedoc, now part of the ‘Occitanie’ administrative region.

These include areas like La Clape near to Narbonne, Terrasses du Larzac near to Aniane further north and Pic-St-Loup, located around a mountain of the same name just outside of Montpellier.

‘Land values have been moving upwards,’ said Dakin.

Mistral-Bernard also said that organic vineyard deals were on the rise in general across the south, and that this trend has mainly developed in the last five to six years.

She added that ‘there are many vineyards for sale in Corbières and Minervois because a lot of winegrowers are retiring’.

However, ‘the prices are very attractive but the profitability in certain areas is low,’ she said, citing lack of irrigation options and future concerns about climate change, too.

Thinking about a strategy

When it comes to buying entire estates, including a residence, prices can range from a few hundred thousand euros to several million euros.

Mistral-Bernard highlighted a property with 20ha of vineyards and a manor house in a well-known appellation of Languedoc that is currently listed for around €500,000, but she said ‘there is a lot of investment to do’.

Another property with appellation-level vines in Languedoc is listed at €1.5m. ‘There’s work to do, but it’s profitable now,’ she said.

Others can cost significantly more, and non-trade buyers may face competition from wine companies, which have themselves have been increasingly active in up-and-coming appellations.

A ‘bastide’ complex with a swimming pool, 38ha of vines and a main château building around 15 minutes drive from Montpellier was listed by Vinea Transaction at €6.2m, or €5.9m excluding fees.

Both Dakin and Mistral-Bernard highlighted the need for buyers to consider their priorities, from the proximity of an international airport to their intentions around their chosen property.

‘It depends on what you expect from the project,’ said Dakin. Some buyers just need the vineyard to ‘wash its face’ financially while others might wish to make more of a commercial profit.

When it comes to picking areas, ‘if you buy in Hermitage or Châteauneuf-du-Pape then you’re almost guaranteeing the possibility of selling the wine,’ he said.

But, he added that those looking for a return on their investment could be better off looking at lesser-known appellations that are on the rise.

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For three hours, Alain Brumont whizzed me around his properties, greeting his staff, checking the bottling line, sampling some of the newly fermenting wines and then driving me to some of his best vineyards, explaining the terroir of each.

At every stop he leaped from his truck to show me how his vines were trained, while also showing me the errors of others: ‘Look at those rows! The guy’s a biodynamic producer. That’s well and good, but he’s got 16 bunches per vine, while I never have more than nine. It’ll show in the wine, I promise you.’

Scroll down for Stephen Brook’s top 8 Alain Brumont wine tasting notes and scores

That wine is Madiran, and the top cuvées, from other estates as well as from Brumont, are often pure Tannat. It was not always thus.

Although historically Tannat had been the main – and in some cases the only – variety planted in this deeply rural, hilly area of southwest France, by the 1970s many producers had planted Bordelais varieties as well. This was partly to soften Tannat’s ferocious tannins, but also to add volume, since Tannat is fairly low-yielding.

In an interesting footnote, Brumont told me: ‘Everyone talks of how Syrah from Hermitage was sent to Bordeaux to improve poor vintages. That’s a myth, and that’s confirmed by my friends Guigal and Chapoutier. What they did use was Tannat.’

In 1985, Brumont released the region’s first pure Tannat for many years: his barrique-aged Château Montus Prestige. It was inspired by a visit to Bordeaux in 1979, just as similar visits caused a revolution in Barolo and Barbaresco in Italy. This Prestige wine caused a sensation and his reputation was made. It was a satisfying moment for a man who had started with almost nothing.

‘My father owned Château Bouscassé. At the age of 16 he made me leave school and work for him.’ Brumont took over Bouscassé in 1979 and bought the abandoned Château Montus in 1980. There were no vines, so he planted 18ha. It’s not entirely clear how he financed his purchases; there seems to have been a measure of wheeler-dealing.

‘Remember, at that time, no one valued terroir here. But I chose my plots carefully. I made massal selections and planted a low-yielding clone of Tannat to ensure quality. I also picked my vineyards by hand at a time when nearly all my neighbours were using machines. They thought I was crazy.’

How, I wondered, did he choose the terroirs where he wanted to plant? ‘Instinct. I just had a nose for good soils and microclimates. As Léonard Humbrecht from Alsace told me, you need to imagine the wine you can make.’

Alain Brumont at a glance

Born 20 April 1946

Education No formal training after age 16

Main properties In Madiran, Bouscassé (80ha); Montus (60ha)

Family Married to Laurence, his third wife. Two children, two stepchildren

Building an empire

He expanded swiftly. ‘The best terroirs were on slopes that were often hard to work. Hardly anybody wanted them, and they were going cheap. At that time, farmers preferred to grow wheat in the valleys rather than grapes on the hillsides.’ But he admits he isn’t infallible, and sometimes he has had to pull out or sell parcels that didn’t meet his expectations.

He has also stopped farming organically. ‘I used to, but stopped, as organic viticulture doesn’t require environmental actions, which I’m keen on. These days we repackage all our plastic and cartons, and the kitchen waste is fed to our chickens.’

Brumont, with his inextinguishable energy, likes to push things to extremes. Some cuvées, such as Montus XL, are pure Tannat aged in wood for 40 months; both his Prestige bottling from Montus and his Bouscassé Vielles Vignes spend two years in 100% new oak.

Unfortunately, he expanded too fast, perhaps from over-confidence, and in 2004 the business was threatened by some severe financial difficulties. His costly conversion of the château at Montus into a luxury hotel, and the construction of a huge new winery at Montus, may have contributed to the setback.

But it was short-lived, and Alain Brumont soon bounced back. Precisely how he managed to keep his empire alive and thriving is hard to discern, but he did so.

In addition to the 300ha he owns or controls in Madiran, he buys from a further 300ha in the Côtes de Gascogne, creating a range of inexpensive wines that transcend the very commercial image of that appellation. And while he would claim that his top Tannats are among the finest wines of southwest France, he has also created the brand Torus, made with fruit sourced from young vines and intended for relatively early drinking.

Always moving forward

Now in his early 70s, with his third wife Laurence and her son Antoine by his side, he shows no sign of slowing down.

Although very much the boss of the operation, he dislikes any notion of hierarchy. Each lunchtime, he sits down at Bouscassé to enjoy a good lunch with his team and with any visitors, whether from the wine trade or from his extensive private clientele. It was the same set-up when I visited Brumont 20 years ago, and it hasn’t changed.

He likes to hold forth, but is not easy to interview, and his slight regional twang sometimes makes him hard to follow. As does his tendency to leap from topic to topic, so that a response to any question can follow tangents such as 19th-century vine training, Gascon chicken breeds and his method of sterilising barrels. All very interesting, but not always to the point.

He likes to design equipment or have it tailor-made, and is keen on technological innovations. ‘If the air conditioning at the warehouse breaks down, the walls have been designed so that the interior will lose just one degree Celsius in three months!’

Aware that French summers are becoming increasingly torrid, even in a region used to dry heat, he is working on a kind of shutter system with movable blades that can protect vines from direct sunlight.

He has a dizzying number of other projects on the go, such as promoting local gastronomy, raising Noir de Bigorre black pigs on the pastures at Montus, and producing caviar from the Adour river. His two chefs bake bread daily, made from flour sourced from a local organic farmer. And in his spare time, he consults for two large estates in Morocco.

With his chief winemakers at the helm for many years, the wines have not suffered from inconsistency. The main ranges are divided between the two properties. Bouscassé is on clay-limestone, and has the very old vines lacking at Montus.

‘Bouscassé is a terroir that permits me to plant other varieties to blend with Tannat, whereas Montus has galets rouges, the large stones similar to those at Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Here I plant mostly Tannat, but Cabernet Sauvignon also works well, and is blended into the basic Madiran.’

The Brumont wines are quite extracted and benefit from long ageing. ‘Tannat doesn’t oxidise easily, which is an advantage, but it also has very high acidity, so even at maximum ripeness levels it can retain freshness.’ Wines tend to be released about four years after harvest, so Brumont undertakes the initial ageing in his cellars.

For some reason, the Madiran producers decided that the ideal name for their white-wine appellation should be Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, rather than something more self-explanatory (and pronounceable). That’s a shame, as it obscures the fact that the whites can be very good indeed.

Brumont chooses the Petit Courbu grape for his dry white, which comes in two versions: the first, Les Jardins Philosophiques, fresh and unoaked; the second, Montus Blanc Sec, given long ageing in 600l barrels and in Austrian ovals. There are sweet wines too, from the Petit Manseng grape popular in Jurançon. Like sweet Jurançon, sweet Pacherenc is made from grapes dried on the vine, not botrytised.

Brumont, ever aspiring to the heights, produces up to three versions of the sweet wine, depending on sugar content and residual sugar. The fruit for the top bottling, Frimaire, is often picked in December, and the wine is aged for two years in new oak; it can have up to 150 grams per litre of residual sugar. Madiran is warmer than Jurançon, so Petit Manseng in Madiran doesn’t always deliver the intensity and high acidity of the latter region, but the Brumont wines do not have any softness or sag.

The hero of Madiran

Brumont is a fighter, as he’s had to be all his life, deprived of parental support and plain broke at the start of his career, and again midway through it.

The unwillingness of some growers to sell him land persuaded him to use his employees’ names as fronts for such acquisitions. He wanted to increase the density of plantings at his top vineyard, La Tyre, but, he says: ‘I was refused permission by INAO, so I suspect there were intrigues against me, especially when someone came down from Bordeaux to plant a vineyard and was granted the same density that was denied to me.’

He confesses to a willingness to flout regulations or expectations when he thinks they impede quality. His first Montus vintage was made from unusually young vines; some of his sweet Pacherencs broke with tradition by having very high residual-sugar levels. Yet all that mattered to him was making the best wines of which he and his vines were capable.

Alain Brumont is a heroic figure: driven, probably exasperating at times, controlling yet convivial, obsessed by terroir and quality, free of false modesty yet no braggart. It can’t be an accident that his top employees have stayed with him for decades.

Nearly 40 years after his first vintage, he has created a stunningly consistent range with wines at all price levels. His long-aged Montus XL impressed me hugely on my recent visit, as did the costly La Tyre bottling and the experimental Montus Tannats, aged for up to 10 years. But the same goes for the inexpensive wines, such as the dry Pacherenc Les Jardins Philosophiques and the barrique-aged Menhir Côtes de Gascogne, an equal blend of Tannat and Merlot – not the apotheosis of pure Tannat that Brumont so worships, but still a delicious and affordable bottle that is excellent for everyday drinking.

However, the mainstays of the range are the wines he makes under the labels of his domaines. The production of Bouscassé Madiran is substantial, and it is made from 60% Tannat, given a long maceration and then aged in one-third new barriques. The Bouscassé Vieilles Vignes, meanwhile, is pure Tannat from vines at least 50 years old, aged in new oak for two years. Brumont describes it as the most classic of his wines, often requiring 10 years to deliver its full potential.

The Montus rouge is Tannat with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, but these grapes are grown at a high density on entirely different soils some 11km from the Bouscassé property. This wine is aged for about 14 months in up to 80% new oak.

The domaine’s Prestige bottling comes from a south-facing 4ha parcel of Tannat, and it spends two years in new oak, bottled without filtration. The same parcel is used for XL. This can spend up to four years in new 600l barrels, which sounds way over the top, but it’s beautifully judged.

Alain Brumont, quite simply, has mastered all the wine styles – red, dry white, sweet white – native to his region.

Once a lone voice, he has succeeded in lifting up the standards throughout Madiran, now surely one of the great red wines of France.

See Stephen Brook’s top 8 Alain Brumont wine tasting notes and scores

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Buried in a deeply rural corner of southwest France, Madiran still languishes in a partial obscurity it doesn’t really deserve. Its remote location is a handicap, and so is the fact that its flagship grape variety is the notoriously tannic Tannat.

That means its wines can be very long-lived wines, but they hardly have the immediate appeal of, say, a Beaujolais or a Chinon. It’s a demanding variety that results in demanding wines, a style not necessarily valued in an age when most wine is consumed within hours of purchase.

Scroll down for Stephen Brook’s top 10 Madiran wines

By the 1980s many producers were giving up on Tannat, and also abandoning the best hillside vineyards. It was easier to cultivate higher yielding varieties such as Merlot, and to plant on the fertile valley floors that in truth were better suited to crops such as corn. Madiran was at risk of losing its identity.

One local boy, Alain Brumont, rode to the rescue, focusing on Tannat from outstanding sites that he was able to purchase for a song, as no one else wanted them. He also introduced the practice of ageing his best wines in a high proportion of new barriques. It helped that Brumont believed in himself, to an almost fanatical degree, and that it didn’t take long for French wine critics to realise that his wines were extraordinary. His 1985 pure-Tannat Montus Reserve received huge acclaim, and he has never looked back. Today he farms or controls 300 hectares in the region, and produces a wide range of wines of exceptional quality.

He’s not alone, of course. Other estates, and even the local co-operatives, were quick to realise that by focusing on quality and typicity, Brumont was able to attain high prices for his wines. So they followed suit but, not everyone had Brumont’s skill, and some wines were overripe, over-extracted, and over-oaked. Occasionally even Brumont’s wines would veer in that direction.

But overall standards rose swiftly. Perhaps it was a coincidence but Brumont’s neighbour Patrick Ducournau devised a technical aid to vinification called micro-oxygenation. The idea was to inject the wines, either during fermentation or during the ageing process, with controlled doses of oxygen. The consequence was to soften the tannins, reduce any greenness in the wine, and make the finished products more accessible in their youth.

Micro-oxygenation was a runaway success. I still have the scientific papers that Ducournau gave me over 20 years ago. I couldn’t follow the details but I wasn’t surprised when a few years later the process had become a worldwide phenomenon. Unfortunately it proved open to abuse, allowing producers to over-crop and thus pick under ripe grapes, resulting in green wines that could then be ‘corrected’ by micro-oxygenation. Today it’s falling from fashion, at least for prestigious wines such as Bordeaux, but the publicity Ducournau gained from it also helped bring Madiran’s wines to international attention.

Despite Brumont’s enormous success and prestige, Madiran still remains under the radar. This is strange, as Madiran hits so many of the right buttons. Quality from the best estates is high, while prices remain reasonable. The wines have structure and longevity, yet most producers offer simpler wines, often blending Tannat with other varieties, with more immediate approachability.

See Stephen Brook’s top 10 Madiran wines

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Bodega Fabre Montmayou, the award-winning bodega in Argentina, has announced the purchase of several wineries in Cahors.

Although French in origin, Hervé Joyeaux has been living in Argentina since 1993 where he founded Bodega Fabre Montmayou and began producing 100% Malbec wines at a time when there were only 10,000 hectares of the grape in the country, compared to 45,000 today, and when it was seen primarily as a blending aid.

Together with his partners the Montmayou family, Joyeaux has now bought Château de Grezels and Prieuré de Cenac in Cahors, along with the brand Château Saint Didier de Parnac from the Rigal family.

In total the purchases represent 120 hectares, making them the second largest producers in Cahors.

The Cahors wine bureau has been pursuing a strategy of promoting the Malbec grape internationally, in recognition of the fact that, although native to southwest France, it has gained its current status thanks to South America, where its first plantings date back to 1853.

According to recent figures, 90% of global plantings of the grape are located in Argentina and France.

In 2007 a delegation of French winemakers from Cahors visited Argentina and visited several estates, including Fabre Montmayou, and since 2013 several partnerships have been announced, including the Argentinian consultant Léo Borsi working with the Piéron family at Château de Rouffiac.

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And could Tannat by the new Malbec? Jane Anson looks at Uruguay's adoption of the Tannat grape and learns about fresh initiatives that could help to get the country on restaurant wine lists.

You might have caught the news story earlier this year, about the opening of the world’s first drive-thru steakhouse in the seaside city of Punta del Este in Uruguay.

This is a country with the highest per-capital beef consumption in the world, where cattle outnumber people four to one, so a drive-thru for picking up a piece of (raw or grilled, cut to order) steak was maybe only a matter of time. But the real story isn’t the Las Nenas steakhouse, it’s the meat itself.

Uruguay meat has long been the choice for the world’s best chefs. All beef in the country is organic, pasture-reared, grass-fed, with hormones banned since 1968. But over the past decade the country has slowly turned from focusing not only on quality but on producing a completely computerized traceability system for its meat. Its ‘pasture to plate’ programme that has been mandatory since 2013 sees every animal chipped at birth and is able to trace animal, age and provenance right down to individual farm, its production processes, field of grazing and any specific associated stories – and is entirely free to the producer, paid for by the government at a cost of around US$3 million to promote the country’s US$1.5 billion export market.

The expense involved makes it a gamble perhaps, but as food security becomes more of a global issue, Uruguay is likely to become even more of a Michelin-chef favourite with this approach. And sommeliers worldwide should be paying attention, because the programme is currently being expanded to the country’s 300-or-so wine properties and 3,500 growers.

Uruguay is the only country to have taken Tannat as its national grape

Uruguay is South America’s fourth biggest wine producer, but currently less than 5% of its bottles are exported, mainly because the vast majority of properties are small (average 5 hectares) and family-run. Only 15% of them make the highest quality VCP (Vinos de Calidad Preferente) wines. Uruguay is perhaps also not helped by its focus on a less internationally sexy grape than its neighbours Argentina and Chile – not Malbec, Merlot or Cabernet but Tannat, that thick-skinned, little-loved grape whose traditional home lies in Madiran, southwest France (Andrew Jefford wrote an excellent piece just a few days ago on Madiran).

Tannat does well in Uruguay because it is the only South American country with an Atlantic Ocean influence. You can find penguins on the beach here in February, and the cool climate makes the thick skin of Tannat a huge bonus. It was first brought to the country by Basque immigrant Pascal Harriague in 1870, and today represents over 25% of plantings. It has pockets of popularity elsewhere – Virginia, for example, Salta in Argentina, and I was just yesterday recommended the apparently excellent version by the Perrin-Haas joint venture Tablas Creek in Paso Robles – but Uruguay is the only country to have taken Tannat as its national grape.

Estates like Bodega Garzon – located in a coastal village of the same name, close to Punta del Este by coincidence – have produced a more contemporary-styled version that is helping to smooth Tannat’s image of rustic, hard tannins in international markets. But the government’s geo-referencing initiative that is learning from the beef sector of the importance of high tech traceability, should also prove a powerful tool to improve exports.

The country’s vineyards are currently being mapped and classified in a computer database, with plans to have 100% traceability in place by next year. It will offer drinkers information on the climate, soil types, parcels, grape varities, vintage and producer of each wine sold, as well as their sustainability initiatives.

I learnt about this at a tasting of Uruguan wines given by sommelier friend Gilles de Chambure in Bordeaux last week. As part of the Cité du Vin’s tasting programmes, de Chambure was hosting a wines of Uruguay evening. He previously worked with Garzon, and talked about how the country’s agricultural heritage makes it perfectly placed for the increasing global focus on natural, provenance-assured wines.

‘Because Uruguay is a small agricultural country the use of chemicals in viticulture basically never happened,’ de Chambure said. ‘There is so much open space that one of the country’s income streams is planting trees for other countries to buy as carbon offsetting. The country runs on 80% renewable energy and 85% of country’s land is agricultural’.

I contacted Martin Lopez at the Wines of Uruguay for more details. He confirmed the ‘ambitious plan that is funded by the National Wine Institute (INAVI). The intention is that by the end of 2018 every bottle of Uruguayan wine will have its geo-referencing QR code on the label. By scanning the code, consumers can find details about the origin of the wine, right down to the individual plot of vineyard where the grapes were grown, and its accompanying stories. In other words, it is a tool that provides important food safety data to producers and consumers’.

Match this with a sustainable, green-winemaking image and you have a powerful proposition for sommeliers looking for the next Jura to champion. Uruguay, and with it Tannat, might just provide an answer.

Wines to Try

Bodega Garzon Single Vineyard Albariño Uruguay VCP 2016

Owned by billionaire Alejandro Bulgheroni with Alberto Antonini as consultant winemaker, Garzon makes a brilliant range of wines that also have the benefit of worldwide distribution. This 100% Albarino has attractive fleshy ripe nectarine and apricot flavours, and clear salinity on the finish. Grown on granite soils close to the coastline in Maldonado region, it is fermented and aged in 80% cement vats, 20% oak. Only a handful of producers make Albariño in Uruguay but on this showing more should be trying. 14.5%abv.

Bodega Garzon Single Vineyard Tannat Uruguay VCP 2015

This says 100% Tannat, but I’m told they sometimes add a touch of Petit Verdot or Marselan. Whatever the blend, this was easily the slickest of the four Tannats tasted at the Cité du Vin, and offers great balance, full bodied, good grip and succulent black fruits, tobacco and dark chocolate with a fresh finish. They harvest late to ensure full ripeness of the Tannat, cropping at a healthy 40hl/h and ageing for 12 months in French oak. 14.5%abv.

Pisano Tannat / Syrah / Viognier Rio de los Pajaros Reserva Uruguay VCP 2015

I’m including this as it was an interesting example of a blend of Tannat, Syrah and Viognier, (and that also has good international distribution). Blending is an approach being taken more and more regularly with the red wines of Uruguay, with the touch of the white Viognier grape intended to soften the burly tannins on a pure Tannat. The results are promising – it didn’t have the immediate impact of the bigger-styled wines but grew on me over the tasting, with softer flavours of wild cherries and raspberries, still held in by a firm frame. 14%abv.

Narbona Puerto Carmelo Tannat Roble 2013

One of the best known Uruguan wines, from the Carmelo region with Michel Rolland as consultant and Maria Chiloa as winemaker. Roble means oak and this is old style, full oak flavours, and for me similar in approach to a classic Mardiran Tannat – full-bodied, powerful, concentrated, demanding, with spicy, leather and olive notes. 14%abv

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Andrew Jefford finds out about a co-operative mutiny.

Mutiny? Perhaps the word is a little strong. There was, though, a whiff of insurrection …

The growers of the Cave de Crouseilles in Madiran are, in general, relatively happy with their lot. This is a polycultural region (most growers also have fields of seed maize or other cereals, and some tend livestock or grow kiwis). Viticulture has been doing relatively well over the last decade compared to those other sectors, and as a result the cooperative has actually gained 100 ha rather than lost land, like most of its sisters across France. But something was bothering the key growers.

“My grandfather was one of the founders of the co-operative in 1950,” says grower Emmanuel Lagrave, “and he always said that these could be fine wines of freshness and digestibility. But we never saw our bottles on top restaurant tables. We also knew that we had some great winegrowing sites here, not all of which were planted. We felt we could do more.” Crouseilles has worked, since 1999, in co-ordination with the Plaimont group; the ultimatum landed on the desk of Plaimont’s MD, Olivier Bourdet-Pees. “Either we are allowed to to show what the appellation can do within Crouseilles,” the growers said, “or we’re off. We’ll do it for ourselves.”

He encouraged their initiative; they stayed; and the result is called Vignobles Marie Maria: new vineyards, new techniques and a range of new wines based on single soil types and sometimes single parcels.

Why the Catholic-sounding name? For the answer, head to Madiran’s town hall, and look up at the old clock you’ll find in the Salle du Conseil Municipal. ‘Pour les soeurs de Charité à Maridan’, it says (‘for the Sisters of Charity at Maridan’). A horological misspelling? Actually no – Maridan was the former name of Madiran, based on the ‘Maria Dona’ who has been, since the eleventh century, the patron saint of the village church and nearby monastery. Two letters, it would seem, were switched in Revolutionary times in order to avoid trouble when anticlerical feelings were running high.

According to the Crouseilles director Denis Degache, Madiran’s current 1500 ha of planted land (and 300 ha of the white Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, whose growing zone is identical) could easily be tripled without any loss of overall quality. Moreover this region, like that of Cahors, is one where the best quality vineyards were often abandoned after phylloxera, and have never been replanted since. In Madiran’s case, that means its steeper west-facing slopes, particularly in the eastern part of the appellation.

The co-operative doesn’t want to become a vineyard owner itself, but it is helping some of the younger growers buy and plant propitious sites with investment schemes. Its own cellars didn’t used to have the tank space to make small quantities, but that, too, has changed with the acquisition of the cellars of Arricau-Bordes in 2001 and Ch de Diusse in 2012. It’s working in the vineyards, too, to improve plantation densities (polyculture meant big tractors, and big tractors meant low densities) and improve the quality of the vine material and the way in which different varieties are used. In this warm but wet region, the principal variety Tannat grows prolifically – meaning lots of work to rein it back towards qualitative restraint (around 200 hours of vineyard work per hectare per year). Cabernet Franc is the much older variety here (its origins lie in nearby Basque country), and both Cabernets are easier to grow than Tannat – but it’s Tannat which gives the highest quality, and Crouseilles is aiming to bring Tannat up to 75 per cent of plantings, from just 50 per cent in 2000.

Nor are Pacherenc whites (based on the two Mansengs and Petit Courbu) being overlooked. Madiran, like Champagne, has its own ‘Côtes des Blancs’, famous back in the eighteenth century as the most celebrated wines of the Vic Bilh hills: this is the hilltop ridge running between the villages of Lembeye and Portet in the west part of the appellation and is little planted at present – something that the growers hopes to change.

The Marie Maria conspirators also have firm stylistic ideals. Since they hope to see their wines on restaurant tables, they are aiming above all for the freshness and digestibility that Emmanuel Lagrave’s grandfather stressed the region could achieve, rather than the ‘scary’ wines – black, fierce, prolific in both tannin and acids, slicing down into the palate like a portcullis — which ambition can so easily deliver here, and which demand either a spell in a cellar or a 24-hour decant, and preferably both.

Macerations and extractions are delicate (a cold soak first, then just 4 to 6 days of swift pump-overs before the tanks are left alone for up to 30 days, with simple moistening of the cap but no further extraction) and wood-ageing unobtrusive, the aim being to allow individual soil and site expression above all.

I’ve tasted the range (see the notes below) and it seems to be a good start, especially given the modest prices (9 to 15 euros for the young wines) and attractive labeling. I worry less about tannins than the Marie Maria team do (these are hearty food wines, after all), and I stressed to Denis Degache that acidity could be as scary as tannin; it’s the balance between the two which matters. For sheer complexity, resource and reward as food wines, though, I still think it’s hard to beat the value offered by Madiran – as the fruits of the Crouseilles conspiracy show.

Tasting Marie Maria

Vignobles Marie Maria, Novel, Madiran 2014

Novel is the introductory cuvee for the Marie Maria range: a blend of the three principal soil/site types, 70% Tannat and 30% of the two Cabernets, with just 30% given wood ageing. It’s dark, with sweet raspberry liqueur scents, and then a switchback palate of plunging, acid-heightened raspberry-plum fruits with soft but ample backing tannins. 89

Vignobles Marie Maria, Veine, Madiran 2014

Veine is grown on the soil type locally called nappe de Maucor: the rolled pebbles of former watercourses found on the top of Madiran hills. This blend of 70% Tannat with 30% Cabernet Sauvignon is aromatically quiet and tightly gathered at present, but promising; the palate combines poised black woodland fruits with a quietly spicy meatiness; the tannins are forest whispers rather than any kind of portcullis, and there is a sweetness of fruit behind the shapely acidity. 91

Vignobles Marie Maria, Grèvière, Madiran 2012

Grèvière is made from the mid-slope gravelly clays which are perhaps the most typical Madiran soil type; this wine is 90% Tannat with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and in 2012 came from a single parcel though subsequently it will be a blend of parcels. Luxury scents: elderberry and damson liqueur this time, with a shake of earth. Full, vivid and tongue-coating on the palate, and seamless already; there’s dark chocolate and plant essences behind the vivacious woodland fruits. Perfumed to the last. 92

Vignobles Marie Maria, Argilo, Madiran 2014

Argilo is a new, pure-Tannat cuvée from 2014, based on clay-limestone soils at the base of steep hills. Clay in Madiran tends to bring lots of slabby, meaty, carnal aromas to the wine and this is no exception, though there are dark fruits, too. On the palate, it’s packed with spear-like sloe fruit and has a richly laden, textural, faintly saline finish; this does need a year or two of cellar calm, in contrast to its peers.  91

Vignobles Marie Maria, Bonificat, Madiran 2001

Bonificat is the name chosen for an older release, and it’s worth a look to see Madiran with a little age: mushroomy, woodland scents and a dense, slightly stewy palate in this instance. Vineyard improvements and the more refined vinification of the younger wines will, I feel sure, mean that they age a little better than this honourable but slightly rustic wine. 87

Vignobles Marie Maria, Novel, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Sec, 2015

The 2015 vintage of this dry Pacherenc (made from Gros Manseng and Petit Courbu) marks a huge improvement over the rather thiol-laden 2014 vintage: creamy, zesty scents and an electric balance between almost flinty acidity and singing, tropical fruit. A great value aperitif.  91

Vignobles Marie Maria, Lutz, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, 2015

In the case of the sweet Pacherenc called Lutz, the 2014 is a very good wine and much better than the rather obvious though gratifying 2013: this has much more aromatic finesse (delicate buttered pineapple) and succulently pure lime, melon and pineapple fruits, too. 90

Vignobles Marie Maria, Bonificat l’Hivernal, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, 2011

The 2011 winter-harvested Bonificat l’Hivernal is made from a single parcel belonging to Emmanuel Lagrave, picked by 200 invited guests on December 21^st, the darkest day of the year: deep gold in colour, with mint and verbena scents as well as the melon and pineapple richness; while the flavours are tangy, bright, deep and full of succulent contrasts, with a rich fruit spectrum in which citrus and quince mingles with tropical fruit. 91

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On the day Plaimont Producteurs’ 2016 Rencontres Ampélographiques opens, Andrew Jefford traces the history of South West France’s leading player.

Why hasn’t André Dubosc been given the Légion d’Honneur? This now-retired Gascon wine innovator certainly deserves France’s national garland as much as the hordes of well-paid civil servants and industrialists who queue up every July (654 recipients this year). Has anyone in French wine had a more transformative effect on his home region?

I visited Plaimont Producteurs in St Mont in early August 2016 as part of my search for France’s greatest co-operative. André Dubosc finally left Plaimont in 2006 and I haven’t seen him since then, though I enjoyed catching up with the co-op’s present managing director, the energetic Olivier Bourdet-Pees. You can’t, though, survey Plaimont without talking about Dubosc’s legacy, which is astonishing.

How can I put it most simply? In terms of wine production, the region was dying when Dubosc arrived in 1973. It produced white base wine to be distilled into Armagnac – but in the post-digestif era, demand had collapsed.

Since the region is a polycultural one, this wouldn’t have been a total catastrophe; poultry and cereals would have seen the locals through. But viticulture has long roots here; the local red wine is particularly healthful, as Professor Roger Corder has shown in his book The Red Wine Diet; and there are hidden resources of vine diversity which have only come to light recently. To have lost all that would have been a tragedy.

“We have the impression that no one knows us,” said present-day co-operative member Régis Dupuy (who manages to cultivate 27 ha of vines as well as grow organic cereals and look after 8000 organic chickens on his own, astonishingly enough, using only seasonal help). “We’re too obscure here. So we work together or die.” Lying at least two hours from either Bordeaux or Toulouse, and with vineyards falling into both of the new giant regions of Nouvelle Aquitaine and Occitanie, this ‘lost’ zone of Gascony has all the geographical cards stacked against it.

Dubosc, and Bourdet-Pees since him, has turned this to advantage. Dubosc managed to stitch the co-operative forces of the region together, making Plaimont the leading wine producer in the South West, with 800 members, 5,300 ha and almost 200 employees. It produces 98 per cent of the AOP of St Mont, as well as over half of Madiran and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, and almost half of the hugely successful Côtes de Gascogne IGP. And it does this well: see my tasting notes below.

Dubosc, furthermore, was full of prescient ideas. The cooperative itself has become the owner of almost 300 ha – so that this land can be rented out to younger co-operative members with a strict quality challenge, to keep them involved and stimulated rather than drifting off to aerospace jobs in Toulouse. Every grower, too, is encouraged to create a small ‘grand vin’ section of their most propitious vineyards which they manicure, with the aim of qualifying for that year’s edition of Plaimont’s top blended red and white wine, Le Faîte. Everyone, that way, gets a stake in the summits as well as the lowlands. The final blend is chosen by visiting sommeliers or writers, to ensure objectivity.

All Plaimont members, moreover, have to give one day a year per 1.5 ha of vineyard to promotional activities – which meant, in the early days, that older growers who had never left their village suddenly and surreally found themselves in Paris or New York, wearing the obligatory Plaimont black beret, talking to consumers and drinkers with their delicious south-western twang. The growers loved it – and so did the consumers. If members don’t want to (or can’t) get involved, you pay a small ‘fine’ – which helps subsidise the promotions. And the berets? They turn a geographical disadvantage (living in deepest rural France) into a marketing tool; indeed ‘Beret Noir’ is now a Plaimont brand.

Then there’s hidden Gascony’s astonishing patrimony of ancient vines. When I was recently in St Mont, I drove between the vineyards with Nadine Raymond, the cooperative’s talented young research co-ordinator. “Come and look at this,” she said, stopping in a quiet country lane. And there, romping up the bushes and trees which divided the fields, were true wild vines (Vitis sylvestris) of a previously unknown strain; some, indeed, think that the Petit Manseng may be the cultivated vine which is genetically closest to ancestral wild vines.

André Dubosc always insisted on giving those growers who had very old parcels a subsidy to keep the ancient vines alive, even though they were usually of mixed and sometimes unknown varieties, and didn’t all produce useful grapes. (When the rules were written for St Mont, he also insisted on obligatory hand-harvesting – since he knew that if machine harvesting was possible, growers would begin to abandon the hard-to-harvest old hillside sites.)

Since then, several parcels of extraordinary antiquity have come to light in St Mont, including one which has now become France’s first ‘vegetal’ historical monument, the Pédebernade vineyard at Sarragachies, thought to date back to 1830 or so. Nadine Raymond and her colleagues have been propagating promising plant material from this and other vineyards, and are hopeful for the prospects for a variety called Tardif as well as for Manseng Noir (the latter is now creeping into commercial production). They’re also investigating varieties of Tannat which produce lower levels of alcohol than those propagated at present. This fascinating genetic patrimony has inspired Plaimont to organise an annual two-day conference called the Rencontres Ampélographiques: the 2016 edition opens today.

There’s a huge amount, in sum, to fire up wine enthusiasts. At the other end of the spectrum, Plaimont produces no fewer than five million bottles every year of a single blended white Côtes de Gascogne called Colombelle L’Original: it’s a simple and inexpensive wine, but delicious, and must bring much drinking pleasure to those wine drinkers who never want to read a word about wine, couldn’t care less about appellations, and have no interest whatsoever in grape varieties. In buying, drinking and enjoying in such volume, of course, they do more than any of us geeks can manage to keep the region’s wine-growing traditions alive.

And all of that is the great Dubosc legacy. So why no Légion d’Honneur?

Tasting Plaimont wines

White wines

Combebelle, L’Original, Côtes de Gascogne, 2015

Bottled under screwcap at 11%, this blend of 80 per cent Colombard (given a full 24 hours of skin maceration) with 10 per cent each of Sauvignon Blanc and Ugni Blanc has, happily, no reduced or sweaty aromas – which some Côtes de Gascogne is prone to – but rather a set of clean, fresh orange-and-tropical-fruit scents with a honeyed overlay, and a crisp, zesty passionfruit flavour that finished cleanly (just 5 g/l residual sugar): highly skilled work at these enormous volumes. 88

Les Vignes Retrouvées, St Mont, 2014

A gorgeous nose of buttered pineapple and lime zest, then a leaner palate than the nose suggests, with mouthwateringly fresh, vivid, crunchy, pithy, faintly bitter-edged flavours. I’ve long thought that this blend of 80 per cent Gros Manseng with 15 per cent Petit Courbu and five per cent Arrufiac is one of the best-value aperitif white wines in the world, and the 2014 vintage doesn’t disappoint. 89

L’Empreinte de St Mont, St Mont, 2014

This is the big brother of Les Vignes Retrouvées, with barrel-fermentation for the Petit Courbu and longer on lees for the whole blend. The aromas are more subdued and subtle, with more soft honey and cream, and the palate is much denser and richer, too, with mealtime wealth of flavour: less pithy bitterness, and more roundness and length. 90

Cirque Nord, Grande Cuvée, St Mont, 2014

From a clay-soiled, high-sited parcel facing north-west and barrel fermented in well-seasoned, neutral casks, this blend of 50 per cent Gros Manseng with 25 per cent each of Petit Manseng and Petit Courbu has magnificent aromatic complexity and pristine fresh fruits, a saline edge and plenty of perfumed yet dry poise. 91

Barriques d’Or, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, 2014

Principally made from Petit Manseng picked in mid-November, this refreshing dessert (or sweet aperitif) wine has a rich, pollen-and-honey scent and a luscious yet zesty palate (lemon rather than tropical fruits this time). 89

Red wines

Moonseng, Côtes de Gascogne, 2015

This light (13%) red gives Manseng Noir its first commercial outing, blended with 60 per cent Merlot. It’s dark yet refreshing: inky and ferrous yet smooth and with bright acidity: a perfect bistro red for serving slightly chilled. 86

Beret Noir, St Mont, 2014

Things get a bit more serious with the ‘black beret’: 70 per cent Tannat with 15 per cent each of Pinenc (Fer Servadou) and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s mildly earthy and savoury on the nose, with a taut, sour, searchingly savoury palate. Not tannic, but concentrated and gathered: proper food wine. 89

Monastère, St Mont, 2012

From the limey clay soiled vineyards of St Mont’s own monastery, now owned by Plaimont itself, this needs decanting to open up its slabby, meaty scents (typical of Tannat in clay) and give its weighty flavours a chance to grow in articulacy. The 80 per cent Tannat is blended with Pinenc and Cabernet Franc this time. Despite its gratifying muscle tissue, this is still not a forbiddingly tannic wine: rich softness, relatively muted acidity, plum and black cherry fruit. 92

 La Madeleine, St Mont, 2015 barrel sample

Plaimont produces four single-property red St Monts — from Ch St Gô, Ch de Sabazan and Ch du Bascou and La Madeleine. The last of these is a small plot of Tannat grafted onto ancient Noah vines planted in 1880. At this unfinished stage, the 2015 has an almost burgundian nose of dark cherry fruit gently shaped by the oak in which it’s aging, with pure, deep fruit flavours of surprising polish and succulence for a Tannat-based red. Very promising. 91-94

 Vignes Prephylloxeriques, St Mont, 2012

Produced in tiny quantities (just four casks), this wine is made from a half-hectare of vines, almost all of them Tannat, planted in 1871 on sandy rather than clay soils. Needs decanting to freshen up a slight reduction, but you’ll find it a wine full of drama: deep and vivid to open, with an almost crunchy mid-palate, softening and filling with warmth as it rests on the tongue. It doesn’t have the almost sticky tannic weight of Tannat grown in clay, but is softer-grained and more poised, with a smoky-bacon savouriness. 92

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Heading south for your summer holidays? Consuming a lot of rosé in the sun? Looking for an eclectic mix of styles and terriors at reachable price points? You must know your wines from the South of France. Test your knowledge with the lastest Decanter.com quiz.

The Decanter.com South of France quiz – test your knowledge

• See more Decanter.com wine quizzes

Malbec may be primarily associated with Argentina – particularly Mendoza – but its original home in Cahors in south west France is enjoying a revival, guests discovered at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter.

There was an informal atmosphere inside the Cahors Malbec masterclass, with Andy Howard MW keen to open up the discussion by getting guests to share their thoughts.

History of Cahors

Howard started with some history and facts about the area; in the Middle Ages, Cahors was one of the biggest and most important cities in France, and there was six times as much wine production in the region compared to today.

Cahors only got appellation status in 1971, so it is ‘very much a modern phenomenon’, Howard said.

Malbec itself has around 30 different names in the Cahors area. ‘But for the sake of today’s talk, we’re going to call it Malbec – because I can pronounce that,’ quipped Howard.

• READ: Stephen Brook on Cahors Malbec

Cahors Malbec

Cahors wines must have a minimum of 70% Malbec, often blended with Merlot, to soften, or Tannat, to sharpen.

‘Malbec on its own can have a good impact when you first taste it, but then sometimes there’s a hole in the middle… it can be good to have another grape to flesh it out,’ Howard said.

The wines on show demonstrated the range that can be found in Cahors; large and small scale wineries, some more understated than others. Howard also pointed out that the conditions for the vintages are often similar to Bordeaux, as the areas are not far from each other.

‘These are primarily wines that go well with food,’ observed Howard. ‘Food of the area is quite heavy… this kind of wine goes well with meat, roast duck, confit duck. Not a wine for seafood I don’t think!’

The first wine of the tasting, Château Vincens was from a small, family owned winery, with an understated style; a fresh violet character on the nose, and plenty of density, structure and blackberry on the palate.

This contrasted significantly to the second wine from Château Lagrezette – owned by the owner of Cartier – which was ‘quite a different animal’. Howard observed that it was more New World in style, and a ‘fairly well put-together wine’. He also noted that ‘I think with all these wines, I’d be tempted to wait [to drink them]’.

Some of the wines divided opinion. Several guests said they found the fifth wine, Château la Reyne, Vent d’Ange 2011, too ‘New World’ in style. But, Howard found it full of black fruit, very drinkable and ‘not a blockbuster wine’.

On the Château Pineraie, L’Authentique 2010, made from 100% Malbec, Howard said ‘there

was a lot going on in this wine’ and that it would benefit from longer in the cellar.

Cahors vs Mendoza

Inevitably, comparisons with Mendoza were made. ‘The style you get in Cahors is not the same as the style in Mendoza,’ said Howard – prompting a member of the audience to ask whether French winemakers are trying to emulate the Argentinians.

‘I think there’s an element of that,’ said Howard. ‘I personally think there has been a move in Cahors to emulate the weight and concentration that Argentina has… for me, they should aim more for the finesse and elegant style.’

The full list of wines tasted:

• Château Vincens, Origine 2012

• Château Lagrezette 2012

• Château Famaey, Cuvee X 2011

• Château Gautoul 2011

• Château la Reyne, Vent d’Ange 2011

• Château Pineraie, L’Authentique 2010

See also:

• Château Cheval Blanc and d’Yquem presented by the ‘dream team’
• Churchill vintages head Pol Roger masterclass at DFWE 2015
• Cos d’Estournel masterclass offers taste of 2010, 1996, 1986
• Full report and photos of the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter 2015
• REPLAY: Live coverage of the DFWE 2015
• Next up: Spain & Portugal Fine Wine Encounter

This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Red Regional France over £15 went to Château Chevaliers Lagrézette, Cahors 2011 (14.1%)

Tasted against:

• Château Montus, Madiran 2009
• Château Pineraie, L’Authentique, Cahors 2012

Profile:

Chateau Lagrezette, a famous name in Cahors, is more than 500 years old, but has been owned since 1980 by Alain Dominique Perrin, who has restored the dilapidated estate, employed Michel Rolland as a consultant, overhauled the vineyards and installed a high-tech cellar.

This Trophy-winner is actually Lagrézette’s second wine, and in 2011 some 40,000 bottles were produced. Made from vines that are on average 15 years old, it’s a blend of 88% Malbec and 12% Merlot. All grapes are handpicked and once fermented spend 14 months in barrel, 10% of which are new and the rest one or two years’ used.

Managing director Claude Boudamani, who has worked at Mähler-Besse in Bordeaux and François Lurton’s properties in Argentina, says: ‘We seek through our Malbec to express the minerality and the elegance of the soil. We work on each parcel to give elegant and mineral wines without compromise.

‘The Lagrézette footprint is defined by three distinct terroirs with a dominance of Kimmeridgian clay,’ he adds. ‘These, plus our sensitive cultivation of the soils, together with hard-earned savoir-faire, harvesting at optimum maturity and the innovative redesign of our cellars in 2011, spells nirvana for Malbec.’

Written by Decanter

This year's Decanter World Wine Awards Regional Trophy for Red Regional France under £15 went to Pelvillian Frères, Château du Port Cuvée Prestige, Cahors 2012 (13%)

Tasted against:

• Château Vincens, Prestige, Cahors 2012

Profile:

Cahors can trace its wine-producing history to the end of the Roman conquest, and as such has one of the oldest viticultural traditions in France. Notably thriving during the 12th and 13th centuries under English rule, transport via Bordeaux along the Lot river proved a costly impediment, with the Bordelais taxing and restricting the sale of ‘the black wine of Cahors’ in favour of their own wines. Cahors, however, has always had its devotees, with Peter the Great – and hordes of pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela – among them.

Plantings in the 19th century ran to 40,000 hectares, but stand at just 4,500ha today, due to phylloxera and then to severe frosts just as post-war reconstitution was underway. Burgundian Claude Pelvillain, who arrived in Cahors in the 1960s, married the daughter of a local vigneron, and was instrumental in lobbying for the region’s appellation status in 1971.

Brothers Arnaud, Didier and Francis run operations at this winery, farming 36ha. This Trophy-winner comes from gravelly terraces covered in iron-rich pebbles at 100m altitude. Pest and weed control is used sparingly and yields are kept naturally low thanks to a permanent grass covering between rows. Fruit is destemmed before fermentation, followed by ageing in French oak casks.

Written by Decanter

The floods and hail of June have devastated agriculture across southwest France, from vineyards to fruit farms.

View from near Rochefort-sur-Loire over the flooded Louet and Loire rivers (Cephas)

The French minister of the interior, Manuel Valls, said much of the Haut Pyrenees and Haut Garonne area of southwest France will be declared a natural disaster zone by the end of this week. This allows national funds to be used for relief programmes.

Flooding has been widespread across Europe. Storms hit Champagne on 20 and 21 June, with many saying high winds caused as much damage as hail. The worst damage was around the villages of Cunfin, Verpillières-sur-Ource, Mussy-sur-Seine and Rouvres-les-Vignes; its extent is currently being assessed.

Germany has seen the worst floods since 2002 with up to 20,000 agricultural properties affected.

In France, insurance company Groupama reports up to 16,500 applications for flood-related insurance payments, with multi-climate insurance payouts until the end of May totalling €60m. Groupama estimates only 35% of vineyards have effective insurance policies.

Globally, France is estimating €500m damage, with 300,000ha of agricultural land affected.

The hail in Vouvray is now estimated to have affected around two-thirds of, with half a billion euros of damage estimated. Over 250ha of vines in Cahors have suffered 80-100% loss after a similarly devastating hail storm; vineyards in Charent-Maritime and Madiran have also suffered.

French agricultural minister Stephane le Foll told newpaper Les Echos, ‘Global warming means we need to be far more proactive in the future. We need effective insurance and mutualisation systems in place so we can avoid always reacting after the fact.’

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

Wine merchants in Gascony in southwest France are taking Californian wines off the shelves in retaliation to the foie gras ban.

Foie gras has been outlawed across California as a law banning force-feeding of animals came into force on 1 July.

Now in the Gers in southern France, the centre of world foie gras production, local winemakers are doing their bit to show solidarity to the region’s many producers, following suggestions from local politician Philippe Martin.

As only tiny amounts of Californian wine are sold in this part of France, it is largely a symbolic move, seen as a way of protecting a delicacy that is a key part of French culture.

‘Periodic bans in the United States have happened with our cheeses, with our wines, and now with our foie gras,’ Michel Laporte of the Cave des Pyrénées in Auch, and regional head of the trade group the Féderation des Cavistes Independents, told Decanter.com.

‘California may represent only 3 or 4% of overall sales of foie gras for France, but it is symbolic, and important to show we will defend our heritage.’

Although Laporte stresses that his move is a personal one, he has written to the national president of the FCI, asking for its position on the issue.

At the same time, French foie gras distributors in the US, along with American producers of the delicacy, are taking the Californian government to court.

Plaintiffs in the suit, filed last week, include Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec andCalifornia corporation Hot’s Restaurant Group Inc, alleging that the law is unclear, and unfairly places a burden on restaurants and distributors to establish exactly which products are banned.

Written by Jane Anson in Bordeaux

Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, co-president of the Chopard luxury watch business, has acquired major Bergerac wine estate Chateau Monestier La Tour.

[Image: Christine Ontivéro]

Scheufele, a self-professed lover of Château Haut-Brion, opened rare Bordeaux specialist La Galerie des Arts du Vin in Geneva in 1996 and also owns Le Caveau de Bacchus, a chain of wine shops with branches in Geneva, Gstaad and Lausanne.

He and his wife Christine have been searching for a wine estate in France for many years, and ‘fell in love’ with Monestier La Tour, a 100-hectare hillside estate 20km from Bergerac.

The property, which has 30ha of vineyards on clay-limestone soil and a large park, was bought and restored in 1998 by Dutch businessman Philip de Haseth-Möller.

Haseth-Möller restructured the vineyards and restored the 13th century château buildings, bringing in consultant winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt and viticulturalist Claude Bourguignon in 2003, working alongside estate director Jean de Laitre.

The château produces wine under the Bergerac, Côtes de Bergerac and Saussignac appellations, including about 7,500 cases of red based on Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, and 5,000 cases of white from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle.

Scheufele plans to construct a new cellar to house wine from the estate itself, and also Bordeaux Grands Crus from his Galerie des Arts du Vin France, currently based in Bordeaux.

Written by Richard Woodard

I'm just back from Alain Brumont's 'Rendez-Vous des Icônes' – an open weekend when, amidst a welter of vertical tastings, festive meals and cellar tours, Madiran's hyper-active master craftsman pits three of his own best wines against seven of the world's best. Twice.

These two tastings – blind for those attending, with a friendly obligation to rank the wines and to make guesses as to variety and origin – were moderated, and the wines commented on, by French journalist Jean-Emmanuel Simond and myself. As we helped select the non-Brumont wines in the first place and had to provide useful background for them, our tasting was sighted rather than blind. Sometimes the exigencies of timing mean that events of this sort are hurried, but not in far-flung Madiran over a languid, eerily warm November weekend: there was a generous hour to get to know the combatant bottles.

Though the point I’d like to make here, in fact, is just how wrong that word ‘combatant’ is. Inevitably in a tasting of this sort it’s fun to find winner wines, and winners mean losers …yet the full results revealed that every wine in the tasting (even those which came last) got somebody’s top vote, and I don’t doubt that drinking verdicts would have been different, as always, from tasting verdicts.

Personally, I find the most interesting aspect of these uncommon tastings to be context. Tasted against dissimilar peers, the preconceptions crumble.

Examples? There were four fine Bordeauxs mixing it with the rest: Margaux and La Mission 2004, and Léoville-Las Cases and Angélus 2006. The quality, for me, which distinguished those wines from the rest in this context was not finesse or structure or balance, but something I hadn’t expected at all: aromatic complexity. This was particularly marked for the two 2004s, but all four seemed to run through a greater gamut of aromatic allusions than any other wine in the tasting could manage, and La Mission dazzlingly so. When you buy fine Bordeaux, you buy aroma.

By the way, none of the four, not even Angélus (whose high percentage of Cabernet Franc suddenly made itself felt), was truly more than a middleweight. I don’t suppose the 2009s or 2010s will eventually be more than middleweights in the global context, either, for all the grumbling about high alcohols and ‘blockbuster’ Bordeaux.

I had always assumed that Châteauneuf was the most crowd-pleasing of fine French reds, and hard for any taster to dislike. Now I know better. Our two Châteauneufs were the most divisive wines of the twenty, and both came last in their flights of ten, though we could hardly have chosen better or more contrastive examples: the Beaucastel Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2001 and the Pierre Usseglio Cuvée de Mon Aïeul 2007. In fact the vast aesthetic gulf between them (the former a craggy medicinal essence, the latter meltingly sweet and ocean-wide) made me realise that 13 grape varieties, 3,200 ha of vines and three different soil types permits, in fact, a much larger range of expression than most French AOCs. Châteauneuf, if you like, may well be France’s most ‘New Worldly’ AOC.

The audience of tasters was almost exclusively French, yet it was a resoundingly successful couple of days for the non-French wines. California provided the most-liked wine in both flights (the intricate Araujo Eisele 2007 and the gratifying Opus One 2000): both Jean-Emmanuel and I felt that any ‘amiability’ we might previously have ascribed to Châteauneuf is, rather, a hallmark of fine California Cabernet. The ‘Judgment of Paris’ is likely to be indefinitely repeated.

A great terroir wine from Australia (Ron Laughton and Michel Chapoutier’s Domaine Cambrien La Pléiade 2008) came third in its flight, where it seemed the ‘most mineral’ of the ten, just as Alvaro Palacios’s 2000 L’Ermita had done in the first flight (when it came fourth). Comparing the L’Ermita with the Usseglio Aïeul, moreover, showed that Grenache is a much more terroir-sensitive variety than it is normally given credit for: it was hard to believe the same majority grape could create two such different wines.

Italy was in second place for flight one (with Luciano Sandrone’s masterfully floral, delicate and fleshy Barolo le Vigne 2007) and Spain for the second flight (Artadi’s glowing Rioja Viña El Pison 2006). The assembled tasters were full of praise for both, though neither resembled any known French wine.

What, finally, of the home team? Brumont wines were ranked third, fifth and sixth in the first flight, and fourth, fifth and seventh in the second. This impressive performance underlines what I have long believed: that Madiran deserves to be considered in the same context as the world’s other great reds. In each case, it was Brumont’s single vineyard La Tyre which was most liked: it has slightly less daunting tannic mass than the Montus XL and the Bouscassé Vieilles Vignes, with greater purity of fruit. But let’s not exaggerate the polyphenolic prodigality of Madiran, either. No one found these wines more challenging than Beaucastel’s Hommage, the 2001 Domaine de Trévallon or even, in its own mutteringly reserved way, the 2004 La Mission. They are country aristocrats, full of dusk shadows and firelight, but generous to the core.

Written by Andrew Jefford

The obsessive Madiran producer on the rocky road to success

It’s not easy being Alain Brumont. Getting by on five hours sleep a night, for one thing – but that’s all this restless, hyperactive obsessive claims he needs.

Restless in the small hours a few years ago, he ventured out to chase a herd of marauding deer out of his young vines and across the fields alone in his 4×4, finding himself soon afterwards in the bottom of a ditch with eight broken ribs. ‘If I hadn’t had my mobile phone…’

Frosty relations with his own no-less-forceful father, Alban Brumont, can’t have been comfortable; nor can two broken marriages. ‘I’m not proud of having been married three times,’ he says. ‘I would prefer to have married just once.’ I recall talking to his second wife, Catherine, who told me Alain lived on ‘Planet Wine, not Planet Earth’. It was, she said, sometimes ‘difficult for terrestrial relationships’.

He admits he is ‘excessive in everything – every time I do something, I have to do it to the limit’. (He was a very successful downhill skier in his 20s – but made himself stop because he realised he was beginning to lose touch with the limits.)

He’s flirted with financial catastrophe; he’s had a long series of battles with France’s wine authorities; the family house at Bouscassé burned down in 1987; he’s seen an employee killed and another die of a heart attack.

But despite it all, he’s still enthusiastic, energetic, planning for the future – and producing, from 300 hectares of vineyards, what are, for me, France’s most undervalued fine wines.

Few wine producers anywhere in the world dominate their region like Brumont does Madiran. It’s an astonishing story for a man whose father insisted he terminate his education at 16 to replace an injured farm employee, and whose only formal wine training was a three-week tasting course he took in his 30s.

He was a farm worker for the first 14 years of his working life, before splitting with his father after his first marriage, in 1980. ‘I wanted to make up the time I’d lost. I had begun a lot of reading about wine; I wanted to do it well.’He bought his own property, Château Montus, against all the odds. ‘Because of the generational conflict, I didn’t have a centime. And my father was on the administrative board of the local Crédit Agricole, so there was no chance of them lending me money.’

Based on the edge of three large agricultural regions, Brumont decided to simply approach another branch of the bank. My security wasn’t good enough, but the committee knew what a hard worker I was.

I was the first one on the tractor, and the last one off. They lent me the money – but what really impressed me was that they lent me their trust.’His first wine, Château Montus 1982, already eclipsed many of its peers in regional tastings, and the debut of the Cuvée Prestige in 1985 ‘went round the world winning accolades and unseating 300 years of dominance by Bordeaux and Burgundy’.

It was, though, an illegal wine. ‘The vines were only two years old; I took just three bunches from each. I’ve always begun in illegality, in fact. But I had a strong desire to prove myself, to affirm myself. I did it by pushing myself to extremes, to the edge of madness sometimes.’

Once Brumont was launched, there was no stopping him. He developed what he calls a ‘bulimia for terroir’. ‘I dreamed of terroirs every night. It got to a totally unreasonable level. I got to know every square metre of the region. They used to call me Mr Digger, because I’d be out there in February when you could get into the clay, sometimes at night, digging holes everywhere. I went terroir-mad, stone-mad.’

Madiran is far from mono-cultural – much of the region is lucratively planted for seed maize. Brumont was able to gobble up the best (stoniest, most steeply sloping) vineyard land by vomiting up the richer- soiled cereal plots in exchange.

Even this involved a measure of illegality. ‘Because I had such success with wine from young vines, people said I was cheating. They said it wasn’t Madiran. I wasn’t on the same wavelength as other growers here, not even the good ones. “If you doubt it,” I said, “come and work alongside me”.’ No one wanted to. ‘But when I tried to buy land next to them, they would get SAFER [the government body that supervises and can pre-empt agricultural transactions] on to me.

I couldn’t swallow that. So I created front companies with employees who used their own names, and after that they didn’t bother us. I bought up a lot of land like that.’

He claims, nonetheless, that he is on good terms with his regional peers today. ‘There’s no other winegrower in the south west who is invited to fêtes, weddings and other parties as often as I am.’Does all of this amount to megalomania?

After all, Madiran is surely more important than Brumont. To test the theory, Brumont undertook a survey around the world among writers, sommeliers and importers, tasting their recognition of four words: Madiran, Brumont, Montus, Bouscassé. Brumont registered 80% recognition, Montus 60%, Bouscassé 25% and Madiran a lowly 10%. Those questioned were also asked to name another appellation in the south west. Only 3% could do that.

‘The Brumont phenomenon is extremely powerful, to the extent that we are trying to demolish that a bit, and put Montus and Bouscassé more into the spotlight,’ he says. Madiran, chez Brumont, looks after itself.

The region has other fine growers – the Laplace family at Aydie, Didier Barré at Domaine Berthoumieu, Alain Bortolussi at Château Viella or Guy Capmartin, to name just four – but the lighthouse of the appellation casts a long shadow.

The cult of Brumont might be risible or pitiful were it not for one fact: these wines are supremely good. This emperor is fully clothed. There is no resting on achievement at Brumont, and his key team members (Fabrice Dubosc at Brumont’s right hand, Simon Forgue at Montus and Alain Dutilh at Bouscassé) are all talented and ferociously hard-working.

Every year they have a competition to find the longest list of experiments to try for the following year. Brumont claims he always wins. ‘I’ve got projects up to 2020. That’s why I don’t much like talking about the past. The future is always more interesting.’

It’s hard to argue that the innovations over which Brumont battled the authorities haven’t been beneficial for the region as a whole. He fought for the right to sell 100% Tannat Madiran at a time when authorities were insisting on large admixtures of Bordeaux varieties. He fought for the right for sweet, late-harvest Pacherenc to be made with up to 20% potential alcohol ‘when the regulations said you were allowed just 15% total alcohol’.

Brumont has pioneered single-vineyard Madiran with the hugely successful La Tyre. He’s conclusively shown the value of low yields in this rich-soiled area ‘where I’ve never seen a single case of water stress’.

He’s never acidified a wine; he’s never chaptalised one. He uses the Vins de Pays framework for wines from Madiran if he needs to – as with his dense yet soft-textured, clay-grown Tannat-Merlot cuvée Les Menhirs.

He even works with a kind of personal co-op of his own, the 20-member Cave Torus, to make the inexpensive Torus wines (a sound introduction to Madiran and Pacherenc) and he rents a swathe of Gascogne vineyards to make cunning two-variety blends – some of the best sub-E7 value wines in France.

At the top level, too, his wines always figure among the best of the appellation: dense, ageworthy, structured and authoritative, with the craggy Montus (grown on stony soils at Castelnau-Rivière-Basse in the Haute-Pyrénées département – his ‘Left Bank’ wine) clearly differentiated from the softer, more sensual Bouscassé (limey clay soil at Maumusson-Laguian in the Gers département – his ‘Right Bank’ wine).

He has occasionally been criticised for copious use of new oak, but he’s unrepentant. ‘I use as many new barrels as ever, but I have an absolute horror of finding a single trace of wood in wine. The fact is – and I discovered this as long ago as the 1985 Prestige – Tannat eats wood. You don’t notice it. A part of La Tyre even spends time in [relatively small] 110-litre barrels, but people often say it’s the least oaky of the four top wines.’ For his dry Pacherencs, by contrast, he uses 600-litre barrels from Stockinger in Austria.

You might imagine, having read all this, that Alain Brumont is physically forceful, shouting in your ear and telling you what to think. In fact, he is almost softly spoken and undemonstrative, though the tide of his speech rarely ebbs.

For a 64-year-old who sleeps five hours a night, he looks in good shape; he still climbs stairs two at a time; rides his bike; skies. The work of Professor Roger Corder, moreover (The Wine Diet, Sphere 2006), suggests that Madiran may well be the most healthful red wine of all, thanks to its elevated procyanidin levels.

Men from Gers have an average life expectancy of 79 years. The improbable Brumont narrative is far from over.

A leading Madiran producer is launching the region’s first-ever en primeur campaign in the UK.

Following the excellent 2009 vintage in south-west France, producer Alain Brumont is looking to profit from the success of the high profile Bordeaux en primeur campaign.

Its top wines have been sold en primeur in France since 1985 and it estimates it will sell around 60% of its production as futures this year. However, the producer stresses its wines are not aimed at investors.

Jean Baptiste, export manager at Alain Brumont told decanter.com: ‘Our wines are purely for enjoyment. We don’t play the speculation game; we make wine for drinking.’

‘Consumers are really turning to our wines because we are seen as value for money,’ he added.

Brumont will release his top red cuvées from Châteaux Bouscassé and Montus as part of this en primeur campaign.

The wines are also sold in the US en primeur.

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Written by Rebecca Gibb

Alain Brumont - Madiran’s fighting bull.

Should you wish to please Alain Brumont – and many people keen on acquiring a few bottles of his Montus Cuvée Prestige, known as ‘the Pétrus of the southwest’, do – you give him a model of a fighting bull to add to his collection. Born in 1946, Brumont is a force of nature. After attending agricultural school, he worked alongside his father at the family estate which produced dense-coloured, sturdy wines that were sold in bulk as vins médicins to bolster up the less robust wines of Bordeaux. Refusing to accept his father’s lack of ambition for the potential quality he recognised in the local Tannat grape, he left in 1980 to set up on his own, purchasing Château Montus on the other side of the Madiran appellation. Within five years, he had made his mark with the 100% Tannat, 100% new oak Montus Cuvée Spéciale. Despite the presence of honourable estates in the region (Château Peyros, Château d’Aydie and Domaine Capmartin, all three of which I sold in my Paris shop in the late 1970s) there is no doubt that there are two stages in Madiran’s history: before Brumont and after Brumont.

https://www.decanter.com/premium/the-decanter-interview-alain-brumont-2-432564/

The effect of Brumont’s wine – the result of drastically reducing yields while at the same time increasing the density of planting, pre-fermentation maceration and lengthy ageing in new oak – was immediate. It was described as ‘Guigalesque’, elected ‘wine of the decade’ by French restaurant guide Gault-Millau, and Alain Brumont was touted as ‘France’s Angelo Gaja’ or ‘the Garibaldi of the southwest’. Yet when his 1985 was at first refused its AC ‘label’ by local authorities, Brumont exercised his right to have it presented to a higher authority in Bordeaux, whence it returned with appellation status and the note ‘the best Madiran we have ever tasted’. From many, many accolades since – the Brumont press book is a weighty tome – one often cited is the three stars awarded by Clive Coates MW in his book, Wines and Domaines of France, from which Latour and Mouton-Rothschild are notably absent.

From barely 100ha (hectares) in the mid-1970s, Madiran now covers 1,400ha, of which Brumont owns 160 and has a further 60 under contract. From the start, he targeted the hillsides and contentedly proclaims, ‘everything that is high up and good now belongs to me’. There are three types of soil: chalky clay, red clay and galets, the same smooth stones that are found in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, except that Madiran’s galets are larger and redder than in the southern Rhône, and date back 45 million years.

Admitting that Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot are important in the planting mix, Brumont’s passion is for Tannat, a truly noble grape if treated correctly. High-density planting of 7,000 vines per hectare enables just four to five bunches per vine to achieve perfect ripeness, helped by the rows being aligned at 3pm so that they receive both morning and evening sun, avoiding the glare around midday. Leaf management and green harvests are de rigueur, but Brumont goes further in demanding that each bunch of grapes for his top-level wines is sculpted by having its ‘shoulders’ removed to achieve the perfect size and weight.

The cellars at Château Montus are jaw-dropping. Coopers, stonemasons and layers of marble are seldom out of work chez Brumont, and it is said that the way to find the winery is to look for the tallest building crane in the vicinity. Key to the velvety texture of the top cuvées is the filling of the vats by gravity, a unique system of pigeage that runs on rails above each vat, malolactic fermentation in barrel and, of course, 100% new oak.

Almost as impressive is the château itself, which was remodelled from a pleasant 18th-century manor house into a colonnaded five-star hotel, opened by Brumont in 2003 with a leading chef hired to rival the reputation of his nearby friend, Michel Guérard at Les Prés d’Eugénie. But this venture, a rare setback for Madiran’s fighting bull, closed after one year. Combined with his divorce at the same time, the solution lay in accepting the Crédit Agricole (by far the largest vineyard owner in France) as a minority partner with a seat on the board.

https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/credit-agricole-bordeaux-chateaux-sale-408703/

At 60 years old, Alain Brumont is just reaching his cruising speed. The hotel has re-opened as a venue for conferences and weddings; and to complement his estate-grown Madirans (and fabulous dry and sweet Pacherenc du Vic Bihl whites) the recent creations are Torus, a more simple Madiran made at a local cave cooperative – which Brumont of course took over and now runs independently – and vins de pays from 200 contracted hectares in the Côtes de Gascogne.

I tasted his 2006 wines from barrel before going to Bordeaux. My money is on the Madirans.

What Steven’s been drinking this month

Holiday mixture

With all the family down for the May bank holiday, a magnum of Champagne was required, and the weather imposed a Mediterranean theme for the reds. Deutz Blanc de Blancs 1996 was elegantly floral and vanished without trace; the smooth and garriguey Bandol Cuvée Speciale 1999 Domaine Tempier, my favourite Provence red, matched our own lamb to perfection and Pesquera Reserve 1997 Ribera del Duero followed magnificently with the cheese.

Tucked away in southwest France, with no major cities, airports or motorways, Gascony is the perfect place to get away from it all – once you’ve got there yourself. By GILES FALLOWFIELD

The southwest corner of France, the land between Toulouse and the Atlantic coastline, boasts the fourth largest generic wine AC in the country in terms of production and sales. Gascony is a region that encompasses 18 separate appellations, yet in terms of exports, its wine credentials have been re-established over the past decade or so not by ACs like Madiran, but by the quality of its vins de pays.

There are some 22 vins de pays in the wider southwest zone that stretches from the Pyrénées, which define its southern border, up to the Massif Central in the northeast. But the most important by far in terms of volume, profile and exports are the vins de pays des Côtes de Gascogne. This vineyard, only formally established in 1982, is in the same defined region where white grape varieties like Ugni Blanc and Colombard were planted principally to make Armagnac. It remains predominantly a white wine stronghold, with reds and rosé accounting for only 10% of production.

At the recent Top 100 Vins de Pays awards, in which wines from all over France competed, three of the six trophy-winning whites – including the ‘best white of show’ – came from the Gers department, the modern equivalent of the ancient duchy of Gascony at the centre of the southwest. Today, nearly two thirds of the 13,000 hectares of vineyards in Gers are devoted to Côtes de Gascogne wines rather than Armagnac.

While Armagnac remains Gascony’s best-known export, it is the success of wine that has set in train a rejuvenation of the region, creating jobs and helping stem depopulation. Both larger companies such as Château Tariquet (known for its whites) and the enterprising Producteurs Plaimont Coopérative – which also makes quality red wines in the Madiran, Béarn and St-Mont ACs to the west – and smaller producers such as Domaine de Pellehaut have helped put Côtes de Gascogne on the map. These three wineries were responsible for the trio of trophy-winning wines, but there are others too. As a whole, the region now produces nearly as much white wine as Alsace.

Thanks to this winemaking renaissance, Gascony has more to offer the wine tourist than ever before. Cheap air travel into Pau and Toulouse has only made this wild and beautiful rolling countryside (slightly) more accessible. It still has no major cities, and motorways pass by on the region’s peripheries in the north and south of the region. This apparent isolation has helped it to retain a strongly rural, individual personality that is evident in its rich and rustic cuisine.

https://www.decanter.com/wine-travel/france/toulouse-wine-tour-wineries-gaillac-371172/

The Plaimont cooperative has done much to re-invigorate the region over the past two decades – not just by adopting practices that have racheted up the quality of its wines, but also by investing in the social fabric. It has devised three wine routes centred on Condom, St-Mont and Madiran – any one of which could be the basis for a day’s touring – in different parts of the region where its members’ wines are produced.

It has also encouraged and helped finance its wine growers in redeveloping suitable buildings as rural gîtes. Some of these are stunning, and most are located in glorious, tranquil settings, which helps bring people and money into an area where there was little attractive accommodation in the past. Plaimont’s wine growers now run more than 25 very reasonably priced gîtes and chambres d’hôtes across the region. Some offer supper, and this home cooking is likely to be one of the best ways to experience the rich and rustic cuisine of Gascony where duck and goose reign supreme be it in cassoulet, magret de canard, confit or foie gras.

The suggested wine routes of Gascony offer a mix of delights, not just vinous ones. The most northerly tour is based around the town Condom, which is also the centre of Ténarèze Armagnac production (Route des Vins et des Vallons du Pays). Seek out what’s said to be the only round square in France, in the village of Fourcès. Just to the south, one of the highlights of this tour is the ancient town of Montréal, near which, in the mosaics at the Gallo-Roman villa of Séviac, you can see evidence of Gascon vineyards dating back 1,600 years.

Montréal is also the nearest village to the impressive Domaine de Pellehaut, run by brothers Martin and Matthieu Beraut. Their L’Eté Gascon 2005 is a lush, velvety textured, honeyed blend of Chardonnay and Gros Manseng, available at just t5.50 a bottle. Their red Domaine de Pellehaut Harmonie 2005, from a young vine blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tannat (ridiculously cheap at t4.50 a bottle) shows this is another area of the southwest where decent red wines can be made too. Les Marcottes and the Family Reserve reds priced respectively at t8.25 and t14.50, the first a 70/30 Tannat-Merlot blend, the latter a classy, complex, structured 90% Tannat, are a further step up (and aren’t yet exported to Britain).

Another good base for exploring is Eauze, which is in Bas Armagnac territory to the southwest of Montréal and Condom. If you want to stay in the countryside among the fields of sunflowers, maize and vines, just outside Eauze, about 4km to the north on the road towards Parleboscq are two very different styles of gîtes close to one another.

Surrounded by vineyards, Château de Millet has been in the Dèche family for more than five generations. Today they make wine, Armagnac and the local fortified wine, Floc de Gascogne. Reached via a long winding drive, the three-room gîte is based in an 18th-century pigeonnier opposite the château. It sells a range of simple but well-made Côtes de Gascogne wines, whites and reds – the whites and straight Merlot are the most impressive – all priced at t5 or less, plus a selection of single-vintaged Armagnacs dating back to 1968.

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A little further up the road from Eauze, at La Ferme de Mounet, you’ll find all the dishes you might imagine – from foie gras to daube de canard – from the large flocks of ducks and geese on the farm. Here there are four newly fitted-out chambres d’hôtes and also, further down the road, a self-contained gîte with a pool. If you stay at the latter, try to sample Madame Monas’ Grand Repas Gascon, hearty rustic cooking at its best, one evening. That’s what Gascony is really all about.

WINED and DINED OUT? Try these:

• Local history: Auch is the region’s capital, with an impressive 15th-century cathedral and steep, winding streets lined with wattle and daube houses, and narrow lanes called pousterles. The Abbaye de Flaran in Valence-sur-Baise (+ 33 5 62 28 50 19, www.gers-gascogne.com) is a fine example of a Cistercian abbey, founded in 1151, and holds regular art exhibitions. The Musée du Trésor in Eauze (+33 5 62 09 71 38) contains a collection of locally found Roman jewellery and coins.
• Walking: in Madiran at Château d’Arricau-Bordes (one of four grand châteaux in the Plaimont group) there are special walks in the woods to look at all the wild orchids in May. And at nearby Château de Crouseilles, there are a series of four marked walks of 2–10km among the vineyards.
• Golf: just north of Eauze there’s an 18-hole golf course with its own auberge, open-air swimming pool and tennis courts (Tel: +33 5 62 09 80 84, www.guinlet.fr).

Downstream from Cahors the River Lot meanders west towards the Garonne and eventually to the Atlantic. Tiny villages and imposing medieval châteaux line the river, while on the outside curve of each U-turn wooded slopes descend steeply to the water's edge. The Lot Valley is also home to the vineyards of Cahors, situated mainly on the undulating alluvial debris of the river's inner loops and to a lesser extent on the limestone plateau above the valley.

Downstream from Cahors the River Lot meanders west towards the Garonne and eventually to the Atlantic. Tiny villages and imposing medieval châteaux line the river, while on the outside curve of each U-turn wooded slopes descend steeply to the water’s edge. The Lot Valley is also home to the vineyards of Cahors, situated mainly on the undulating alluvial debris of the river’s inner loops and to a lesser extent on the limestone plateau above the valley.

Pre-phylloxera there were 40,000ha (hectares) under vine in Cahors but a combination of the deadly aphid and competition from the Midi virtually wiped out the industry. A modest revival inspired by the establishment of the Caves d’Olt cooperative in 1947 was halted by a devastating frost in 1956 and consequently the modern vineyard was reestablished from the 1960s onwards. Full AC status was granted in 1971 with the stipulation of a minimum 70% Malbec (the region’s adopted grape variety, known locally as Auxerrois) in the blend, supplemented by Merlot and Tannat. There are now 4,346ha under production for a volume of 253,517hl of wine (2000 figures).

MYRIAD TERROIRS

Equidistant from the Atlantic and Mediterranean, Cahors is influenced by both climatic regimes. Winters are slightly colder than in Bordeaux but a warm, dry southerly wind, the vent d’autan, helps ripening in September. Vineyards in the valley gain some protection from cold winds, while the River Lot provides thermal heat.

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Much of the vineyard resides on material eroded and deposited by the River Lot. But this varies in form, exposure and inclination and has a bearing on maturity, date of harvest, style and ultimately the quality of the wine. Close to the river a sandy, silty band known as the première terrasse produces at best light, easy-drinking wines. For some this should not be included in the appellation’s delimitations. Away from the Lot Valley river and on to a gradually inclining gradient the soils become older, originally from the Massif Central. A second terroir, the deuxième terrasse, is a mix of clay, quartz and silex and a third, the troisième terrasse, more limestone-clay. The drainage and hygrometry are better, the exposure is often southerly, and the clay content gives an added power and volume. This area represents a good 50% of the vineyard and most of the better estates have land on these soils.

At the foot of the plateau are pockets of eroded limestone known as cones d’eboulis calcaire. The style of these Lot Valley wines can be quite fine but they are usually used as part of a blend. As with the plateau above, the lack of water in dry years can be a problem. At least 80% of the Cahors vineyard is now located south of the Lot. Malbec is the grape of Cahors, producing dark, minerally, tannic wines that are not effusively aromatic but benefit from a few years’ bottle age. Yields have a bearing on quality and the permitted 60hl/ha (50hl/ha plus 20% plafond limité de classement) seems excessive in all but outstanding years. The top cuvées are mainly 100% Malbec from lower yields. Merlot is less of a success than one would imagine, needing really ripe years (1990, 1995, 2000) to gain full maturity and avoid a dull, vegetal edge. The tannic Tannat is used in sparing doses. Recent top vintages include 1998 and 2000, with 1999 a little lighter and 2001 set to demonstrate the best and worst in the appellation. A lot of progress has been made over recent years thanks to new capital and the increased efforts of home-grown producers. There have been a number of high-profile arrivals including the queen and prince of Denmark at Château de Caïx and Alain Senderens, the three-star Michelin chef at Château Gautoul, since resold to Belgian Eric Swenden. But undoubtedly the outsider who has most marked the appellation is Alain Dominique Perrin, patron of the Richemont Group, owners of Cartier.

Since buying Château Lagrézette in 1980 Perrin has renovated the château, extended the vineyards to over 60ha and built a three-level, gravity-fed winery, which would be the envy of Bordeaux, into the hillside. The vinification is modern Bordeaux with advice from Michel Rolland, hand harvesting, selection and the evolution of a number of different cuvées including the Dame Honneur and Le Pigeonnier. ‘We want to make Cahors presentable for this day and age with more elegance, polished tannins and a seductiveness right from the start,’ says estate manager Jean Courtois.

QUEST FOR ELEGANCE

The focus on taming Malbec’s tannins and producing Lot Valley wines with more elegance has led to a number of winemaking practices being refined at the better domaines. Grapes are harvested with improved phenolic ripeness, there’s a softer approach to extraction through the use of pigeage and longer post-fermentation maceration. Micro-oxygenation has been borrowed from the cousins in Madiran and the percentage of new oak has been increased for ageing the wines.

Two of the leading Lot Valley producers to embrace these techniques are the Verhaeghe brothers at Château du Cèdre and Alain Gayraud at Château Lamartine. Pascal Verhaeghe worked with Jean-Marie Guffens in Burgundy in the 1980s before returning to the family domaine. Much of the estate’s success is due to the terroir (troisième terrasse and cones d’eboulis calcaire) and the clinical management of the vineyard. Chemical fertilisers and herbicides have been eschewed for a number of years. Micro-oxygenation has been used since 1990. ‘It works for Malbec and Tannat by stabilising the tannins and anthocyanins,’ explains Pascal Verhaeghe.

Alain Gayraud was born at Château Lamartine. The 30ha domaine is regularly one of the earliest to harvest. The wines have not been chaptalised since 1993 and maintain a wonderfully lively, fresh, fruit-driven character. Alain Gayraud has been experimenting with new oak since 1985 and ages the Cuvée Particulière in 30% and Expression in 100%. Both have a harmonious feel.

In a move towards quality a new standard, Chart de Qualité, has been launched in Cahors. Only wines from selected terroirs that have followed a stringent set of viticultural rules including maximum yields of 40 hl/ha and that have passed a double tasting examination are to be granted this distinction. The project was launched with the 1999 vintage and judging from a tasting of several samples the fruit seems more concentrated but the oak is too dominant. A greater knowledge of oak management looks necessary.

Clos de Gamot remains staunchly linked to tradition. Produced from low-yielding Malbec, a percentage of which is over 100 years old, the wine is aged for up to 24 months in large wooden vats. A minimum of eight years’ bottle age for better vintages is recommended. It’s a wine from another age but a reminder that the identity of Cahors is closely linked to the expression of its terroir.

James Lawther MW is a contributing editor to Decanter.

Written by JAMES LAWTHER MW