An Autumnal Visit to Château Montus and Château Bouscassé

Friends from Toulouse had recommended a vineyard visit and lunch chez Alain Brumont, the visionary proprietor of both Château Montus and Château Bouscassé. We began at Chateau Montus,le roi de Madiran, whose wines, made from Tannat grapes, have won many prestigious prizes. The distinctive Tannat grape variety now rivals Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in Bordeaux, Pinot in Burgundy and Syrah in the Côtes du Rhône. It produces very dark wines with a subtle, powerful fruitiness and high levels of tannin, which give them an exceptional capacity to age. They are deep and well balanced, the perfect complement to the rich food of the region.

When Alain Brumont bought Château Montus in 1980, on the basis of the terroir's reputation in the eighteenth century, he recognised that he could restore the reputation of the Madiran region and create a world class wine. With its steep slopes and fully south facing, sunny slopes, it was a labour of love. He invested vast sums in both the château and the caves, as well as state of the art technology. The caves, designed by renowned architect Edmond Lay, and including the first underground cellar in the south-west, are a sight to behold. I particularly loved the beautiful mosaic of Bacchus on the floor.

From there, we drove up to the vineyard of La Tyre, the highest point of the appellation. Here the slope is at a gradient of 20%-40% and a cooling breeze blows through the vines, ventilating the grapes when, in summer, most of the leaves are removed. Its terroir consists of large pebbles, one of the last traces of the Pyrénées dating back forty million years, on yellow and red clay subsoil. The La Tyre vineyard produces the finest, and most expensive, wines from the Brumont estate. Made from 100% Tannat grapes, the 2010 vintage is priced at a hefty 150€ a bottle in their shop.

It was a bitterly cold day, so we were grateful for a respite in the tree house at the top of the slope, where Thomas, our guide, produced a 2014 Château Bouscassé white wine, called Les Jardins Philosophiques, made from Petit Courbu and Petit Manseng grapes, which we sampled with delicious morceaux of Noir de Bigorre jambon, the local speciality ham. It's cured from the naturally fed black pigs of the Pyrénées, whose history dates back to Benedictine monks of the XI century. The recent revival by a small group of enthusiasts over the last thirty years has made it a serious rival to the highly prized Spanish Jamón Pata Negra.

We finished at Chateau Bouscassé, the thriving hub of the Brumont enterprise, where we were led into the cosy staff dining room full of long tables bedecked with blue and white checked tablecloths. The wood burner was much appreciated. We were taken to a table at the far end, where our personalised menu awaited us, each dish prepared by their Alsatian chef, Loïc Ripamonti, who each day prepares lunch for thirty to forty people. It was the best meal we've eaten all year, all beautifully prepared from the best local produce and based around Noir de Bigorre and the chateau's own Poule Noire,washed down with a carefully chosen selection of wines from Montus and Bouscassé [list can be provided]. It was the perfect end to a wonderful visit.....and, of course, we left with four cases of wine, including the Château Montus 2016, for our Christmas guests!