Premiere Madiran 2019 Red Wine

Elaboration

Madiran is one of France's most singular appellations — a protected denomination in the Pyrenean foothills of Gascony where Tannat, a thick-skinned, deeply pigmented variety of extraordinary structural power, produces wines that have been drunk in this region since the Middle Ages and carried south into Spain along the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. The variety's natural tannin levels are among the highest of any red grape in France, giving Madiran its characteristic dark colour, its powerful structure and the ageing potential that has always made the appellation's finest wines among the most cellar-worthy in the southwest. Bernard Magrez — whose 40-year commitment to quality across his Grand Cru and regional estates has made him France's most prominent wine owner — produces his Première Madiran from 95% Tannat and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, hand-harvested and given 15 days of maceration before vat ageing refines the tannins and preserves the fruit freshness that makes this wine both a genuine expression of Madiran's Tannat tradition and an immediately accessible and pleasurable glass for every table.