I have to admit that the wines of the Sud-Ouest are not on my radar at all (I do enjoy the heck out of vintage Armagnac, though) but when Otto F asked if I wanted to buy a bottle of the 1995 (never forget, Finland won the ice hockey world championship) Château Montus for peanuts it was not a tough decision. This 12.5% marvel turned out to be in great form and most classically styled, excelling with the dry aged beed sirloin we paired it with. I’ll still have other priorities but mature Madiran has entered my radar, no question about that.
1995 Château Montus Madiran- France, Southwest France, Madiran (3.7.2021)
Decanted for an hour, served at classic room temp. Dusty and savory on the nose with lively cassis fruit, dry wood and herbal notes. Not super tertiary but most attractive with a slight volatile edge. On the palate medium bodied and on the lean side but by no means thin. The tannins are there, strengthening their grip considerably midway through. Savory and very dry, to be enjoyed with bloody red meat. Very spry and lively with nice acidity, in some ways youthful but I am not sure if it will develop from here. High pitch red fruited, my Chianti loving better half was all over this. A mature wine with plenty of character and exquisite balance - not very long but all the pieces are in great harmony. Very elegant despite the tannins, no fat and no harsh edges
Good to hear! One of my sources in France offered some ex-domaine stock earlier this year and for whatever reason I bought three jéros of this 1995 with a view, I suppose, to hosting BBQs at some point. Sounds like it is aging quite gracefully.
Thanks for the note. I wasn’t happy with how my bottles of the cuvée prestige aged having the last of those a few years ago. So I haven’t been excited about my remaining mags of this wine. Sounds like there is reason to be hopeful. But it will have to wait for fall when temps are cooler.
No idea where the jéro might be at this point nor what your typical BBQ is like but given how savory and dry this was it would not be my first choice for a BBQ if sweeter sauces or marinades are involved
Graceful is a very good way to describe it though and it drinks like a charm. This bottle was in such a pristine condition that I would not be surprised if it was a late release as well.
I have no experience with the Prestige so can’t say what the differences might be but slightly chilled this was just wonderful on a warm evening, but them that’s Finland warm which could be cool for some. Seemed pretty honest and unadulterated, I’ve understood that they went more modern at some point.
I had 2 bottles of the 95 Cuvee Prestige languishing in France as the tariff wars played out, but this thread prompted me to check their status and they are now States side and ready to ship!
Your bottle sounds like my kinda wine, hope my bottles show as well. This will be my first bottle of Madiran.
Cuvee Prestige
100% Tannat
Madiran, S W France, France
1995-In the mid-seventies, I paid a visit to the rustic appellation of Madiran, several hours south of Bordeaux. I met proprietor Alain Brumont, but had no way of knowing at the time that he would emerge as the appellation’s most energetic and quality driven producer. Brumont has always produced very good wine for near term drinking, but the 1995 Montus Cuvee Prestige, a 100% Tannat (the local grape), aged in 100% new oak, is a wine for drinking around 2010 or later. In fact, most readers would be advised to buy this wine for a child born in 1995, as opposed to purchasing it for personal consumption. As the grape’s name implies, it is a tannic wine, although this is not a wine that is harsh and astringent without the balancing fruit. The color is an opaque black. The wine possesses a magnificent, sweet, pure nose of cassis, black plums, and subtle new oak notes. Extraordinarily deep and full bodied, with layers of concentrated, jammy fruit, a formidable tannin level, and a monster finish, this is unquestionably one of the great 1995s (and I am including all my top picks from Bordeaux). Do not be surprised if it outlives anything produced by Montus’s more renowned siblings to the north. The Cuvee Prestige will demand 15 to 20 years of cellaring. These are unreal wines that are purely made, remarkably rich, and so complete and promising that they cannot be ignored. Drink: 2016 to ?. Last tasted, 8/96. Rating, 94/96. Robert Parker
Thanks Ilkka, good to know that the 95 is still going strong, since I have one left and it’s been a while since I tasted it.
Brumont was on the up escalator at the time, rethinking and reworking Madiran, before his personal problems resulted in professional setbacks. I think perhaps that the 90s were his pinnacle, in that they taste more balanced than the wines from the 00s, when alcohol levels rose along with the richness. The recent vintages I have tried were really not to my taste anymore, but it’s quite easy to pick up older vintages, over here at least, for much the same price as new ones.
I would certainly recommend them for pairing with a barbecued magret, especially in the autumn with some ceps, yum!
Din’t enthrall me as much, but the 1995 Montus Madiran I had were fiercely tannnic from 6 - 7 years ago, but still good with food. The 1995 Montus Prestige was obvious step-up in complexity, but also was a tannic beast then. Seems like these are starting to come around.
He had a messy divorce sometime around 2005, I think, which nearly cost him the lot and I think the Prestige cuvée disappeared for a couple of years. He made a deal with a bank and got things back on track. I’ve never tried the 01s, unfortunately, but I imagine they must be quite like the 00s I have - very much wines of their time, very rich and powerful - which doesn’t mean they’re bad, just not for everyone.
I have a bottle of the regular 2008 Montus and while the winemaking for these two were probably not identical I am in no rush to open it after this one. On its own I don’t think this was anything mind-blowing but then I almost never drink wine without food so how they perform at the table is what it’s all about.
I put away some of his 90’s bottles on release - based purely on the Parker note - and then somehow lost them during my various moves over the years.
Rather inexplicably, my local Costco carries his Prestige bottling fairly routinely. I’ve seen 3-4 vintages there in the last couple of years. I think 2014 is on the floor as I type away…
Especially, with good SW French dishes. Cassoulet!
I go nuts with these not-so glamorous stuff when there’s the right dishes in front of me. Madiran, Iroleguy, Gaillac, Marcillac and whatever else that’s out there in the neighborhood.
I think La Tyre was simply Brumont’s awkward nod to a style that was very much en vogue back then. Everything else I’ve had from 2001 (both Montus bottlings and the Bouscasse’ VV) was very much in the same style as his good stuff from the 90s.
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In that case, sounds like a plan!
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