Anthony Rose: 'Dark reds from the tannat grape were found to be the richest in the anti-oxidant procyanadin'
Latest in Features
On Facebook
Life & Style blogs
HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future
In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...
Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places
Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...
Online House Hunter: Rugby – a Dickens of a town
Charles Dickens didn't think much of the railway town of Rugby in Warwickshire, calling it Mugby. Bu...
A fortnight ago, I looked at the Quercy side of south-west France. This week it's the turn of Gascony, stretching west from Toulouse to the Atlantic and the Pyrenees. Gascony is home to the dark, tannat-based reds of Madiran, Saint Mont and, nestling in the Pyrenean foothills, the independent-minded Basque sub-region of Irouléguy. So goodbye for now to the malbec of Cahors and hello fer servadou – known as pinenc in Saint Mont – and the dark reds made from tannat grape, the variety found by Dr Roger Corder to be the richest in the anti-oxidant chemical procyanadin.
The best whites of the region are made from the gros manseng and petit manseng grape, to be found in Jurançon and the Côtes de Gascogne. Gros manseng makes fragrant and crisply fruity dry whites, and when blended with the local courbu and arrufiac, as in the case of the 2008 Saint Mont, £6.99, Marks & Spencer, it can be crisp and refreshingly dry. A south-western French answer to New Zealand sauvignon blanc, fine gros manseng like the 2008 Domaine des Cassagnoles Gros Manseng, Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne, £6.90, Free Run Juice (freerunjuice.co.uk), The Wine Shed, Somerset (01984 624641), can be beautifully aromatic with a zesty grapefruity character. In company with the smaller, thicker-skinned petit manseng grape in Jurançon, it can make wines of the class of the delectably bone-dry 2005 Clos Lapeyre Vitatge Vielh Jurançon Sec, £13.75, Les Caves de Pyrène, Guildford (01483 554750).
Madiran today is one of the south-west's most dynamic regions – thanks in part to the development here by Patrick Ducourneau of a frightening-sounding method of taming the tough tannins of the tannat known as micro-oxygenation. His discovery that bubbling oxygen through the fermenting juice helps to soften an otherwise potentially tough variety is now used to produce a more immediately fruity style here, and worldwide. In Saint Mont the Plaimont Co-op adds a touch of cabernet sauvignon and pinenc to bring a certain sweet blackcurrant character to dark-fruited, chocolatey blends such as the 2005 Monastère de Saint Mont, £13.99, Bedales, London (020-7403 8853).
The special climatic conditions, proximity to the Atlantic and the Pyrenees give Madiran's reds, with both cabernets and fer also used, their robust, tannic and long-lived quality. A classic Madiran, the 2007 Chateau d'Arricau-Bordes, Cave de Crouseilles, £14.99, The General Wine Company, Hants (01428 722201), a blend of tannat, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, shows coffee-bean spicy oak and vibrant brambly fruit underscored by spiciness. Excellent too, the 2006 Château Aydie, Vignobles Laplace, £11.99, Waitrose, displays pure ripe dark cherry and mulberry fruit, framed by spicy oak and damsony acidity in the modern style – a perfect example of the taming of the tannat.
Irouléguy, lying in the heart of French Basque Country in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, is comparatively small, with only 215 hectares of vineyards planted on spectacularly steep, sunny, south-facing terraced vineyards. Typically using half tannat and half cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon for freshness and fragrance, the 2007 Domaine Arretxea, Irouléguy, £14.99, Les Caves de Pyrène, Zelas (zelas.co.uk), is an attractive Basque blend, vivid and fresh and with no oak, a distinctive contrast to, well, just about anything you've ever come across.
- 1 And the Bafta for best dressed goes to...
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 The Ten Best Scotch Whiskies
- 4 Chemotherapy is 'safe during pregnancy'
- 5 The 10 best gins
- 6 Apple tries to bar Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone in US
- 7 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 1 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 2 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 3 Chemotherapy is 'safe during pregnancy'
- 4 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 5 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 6 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 7 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 8 Henry does it his way, ending on a high note
- 9 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 10 Redknapp hints at same old faces for England
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Apple admits it has a human rights problem
James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea
Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all



Comments