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Château
Laffitte - Teston
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Vieilles
Vignes
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| Madiran |
1998
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  Madiran
is an appellation in the southwestern Gascony region of France,
at the foothills of the Pyrénées Mountains. This
is a region of rich culture, culinary traditions and, of course,
great wines. The grape that dominates the authentic wines of
this region is the Tannat grape, which can produce a full-bodied
and tannic wine with deep fruit flavors. Wines made from pure
Tannat, however, take many years to mature and are often not
approachable for 3 to 6 years after the vintage. Production
of these wines therefore requires much work and care to produce
both elegance and richness in the bottle opened on your table.
Such is the case with Jean-Marc Laffitte who makes wine on some
of the best terroir of the Madiran appellation.
Vieilles Vignes is Jean-Marc's premium Madiran wine that is
designed for the long term yet still offers a lush fruit in
its youth. The wine is pure Tannat. Made from old vines of almost
70 years, the yields are small and the fruit concentrated. The
wine remains in cuve for 21 days with a constant breaking and
wetting of the solid materials in the cap (chapeau) to extract
softly the maximum of fruit aromas. The wine is then moved to
new oak barrels where is rests for 13 months with a removal
of the sediments (soutirage) every 2 months.
The color of this Madiran wine is intense with garnet notes
and is almost opaque. The bouquet is fine and harmonious with
aromas of roasted coffee and chocolate, with vanilla and prune
aromas from the oak barrels, as well as aromas of small black
fruits. The wine engages the palate and follows with a concentration
of fruit that is fleshy, fat and generous all wound around an
already rounding tannic structure. There is also an excellent
balance between the wood and the wine. To be served with red
meats, game, roasts, black sauces and strong cheeses.
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Selected
and Imported by:
Chicago,
Illinois |
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