TN: 1995 Château Montus Madiran (France, Southwest France, Madiran)

[IlkkaL]

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.

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.

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.

Well I’m right with you there! I have a fond memory of being in Carcassonne when it started raining heavily so we ended up in a restaurant in the cité soaking wet but the cassoulet and a bottle of bold, rustic AOC Malepère (???) was all it took to make all the worries go away.

[Jurgen_Steinke]

I think the 1995 (standard bottle) was better 5- 10 years ago. I owned a case of this and the last bottle I had last year seemed to be past peak losing body and the structure of the 1995 vintage was way more obvious than in former years. I thought it is slightly drying out. The 2000 is still very good btw.

[Kelly_Flynn]

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.

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.

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.

Cassoulet – yes! I was intro’d to these beauties maybe a decade ago at Hearth NYC paired with a heart stopping array of the classics of SW France. As a result I bought a bunch of the 90 Prestige, and have been enjoying them ever since. Great bdx blind ringers too – except tasters usually guess it to be younger. LOL

[Brian_Gilp]

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

Posted from CellarTracker

Open my last magnum last night. This note is spot on. I didn’t notice the acidity as much but didn’t notice it as lacking either. Perfect balance. I don’t know if it will get any better but at least this bottle seemed to be quite a bit away from going downhill. I felt a slight resemblance to old school Bordeaux but that could be more a function of 25 years of age and the 12.5% alcohol than anything else.

[Laurent_Gibet]

Alain Brumont Madiran La Tyre 2007 : 16,5/20 - 26/4/2022
An interesting concentrated wine, ripe, very merlot Bordeaux Rive Droite (the wine served just before was Haut-Marbuzet 1996, thin and fully ready), with a good evolution. Easy to forget tannat because the tannins are earthy but quite classy.
I remember tasting Montus Prestige 1990 several times as a very good Pauillac.

[Arv_R]

I made a cassoulet yesterday (Cassoulet time! - Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes - WineBerserkers) which paired brilliantly with the 2010

These seem to be more refined, polished wines than I remember a generation ago.

[Craig_G]

We drank a 1990 Montus Cuvée Prestige last night in Mendocino (a bottle purchased from K&L within the past few years). It was really excellent, perfectly mature but I expect it could age gracefully for many years. Two days earlier we drank a 1990 Dunn Napa which was in similar condition and similar quality. It would have been an interesting comparison with the Montus.