Madiran Laplace 2003: One of France's Most Seductive (and least known) wines
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Chateau d'Aydie in Madiran and in view of the Pyrenees and Spain
It's been too long since you've had a Madiran in your glass or maybe you've never ever had one. It's time to change all of that. This is a powerhouse wine with a very wimpy price tag.
I was late for my lunch date with Francois Laplace at Chateau d'Aydie in a crushingly beautiful spot on a hilltop overlooking a panorama of vineyards sheltered by the curves of the River Ardour. I got caught behind three hay trucks and then multiple holiday-maker's caravans joggling along the two- lane roads like they had all the time in the world.
I couldn't wait to get to Madiran which is in remote territory almost three hours south of Bordeaux (which means you're not too far from Spain) because I've wanted to import a Madiran for a long time. One off-site taste of the Laplace Madiran several weeks earlier told me this was definitely the one. I was instantly seduced by that fearless, rich blackberry and currant expression of the Tannat grape.
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Incidentally, Madiran is the wine with the most resveratrol which is the stuff that keeps you alive and pumping or so scientists tell me. But, even if you're skeptical, what's the down side? This is very good- tasting medicine and I plan to be pulling a lot of corks from now on just to be safe.
The Laplace family estate is called Chateau d'Aydie (die-dee).
The Laplace family ancestors are generally recognized as the folks whose efforts put Madiran on the modern wine radar screen. Their efforts were responsible for Madiran getting its AOC designation in 1948.
Here's what Andrew Jefford (The New France ) says about Aydie:
"This is one of the most immaculately and professionally run domains in the whole of France."
La Revue du Vin de France says, "The wines made here offer very beautiful harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and the firmness of the tannins."
Chateau d'Aydie is a family affair. Francois is responsible for the commercial side. Marie handles all of the administration and also managed to whomp us up an amazing lunch of white asparagus salad with a slab of foie gras the size of a deck of cards, crisp potatoes cooked in duck fat, and the most succulent duck breast I've ever put in my mouth, all this in between large tilts of Madiran. Lunch ended at 5pm. I like these people a lot.
Bernard is master of the vines and all that goes on outside and Jean-Luc is the wine maker. Pierre is the Pere and still advises. He is ruggedly handsome and I was enchanted to see a black beret atop his pate at a time when that lovely circlet of wool has lost hold in sartorial circles of France. Some things are slow to change in Madiran, but not the wine.
What happened in little old Madiran in the 1990s changed the taste of wine all around the world. Micro-oxygenation was invented here by a cousin of the Laplace brothers at Chateau d'Aydie. You know, that thing they talk about in Bordeaux that tames the tannins, coaxes out the fruit flavors, and makes generally unapproachable wine accessible in half the time. You probably thought Michel Rolland invented it. Wrong!
And it's all because of Tannat. You can't have a discussion about Madiran without talking about tannat. Tannat is Madiran. And, it is not an easy- going little breed. It can't be machine-harvested because the machine can't shake those stubborn grapes off the vine. Then, add to that, Tannat takes forever to ripen. All of these things could have been borne with a shrug were it not for the fact that Tannat is very, very tannic and will snarl at you unless it has many years of sitting around and mellowing out. Until now.
With a little bit of oxygen inserted at different times during vinification, our surly little Tannat starts to purr like a kitten. Now they use micro-oxygenation everywhere in the wine-growing world.
This Madiran is fantastic and you'll have a lot of fun serving it. There will be appreciative murmurs around the table and your guests will probably think they're drinking a very good Bordeaux. They don't have to know that it cost about half as much. Cynthia Hurley
The Details:
Madiran Laplace 2003 12 bottle case, $155.88 ($12.99)
You are right Cynthia, Tannat does make wonderful wine. And it is incredibly good for you as well. See http://healthiest.wine.ever.com/
Tannat wines contain loads of the the right sort of Polyphenols to make your heart and arteries healthy and to protect against diabetes.
Posted by: Darby Higgs | December 14, 2007 at 09:24 PM
Domaine Mourchon Traditon, Domaine Hautes Cances Tradition, Samur Champigny, Cuvee Beauvais.... Are these wines still available?
Posted by: Jerry Edinger | December 15, 2007 at 12:19 PM