Two Tannat-based wines from Southwest France (#Winophiles)

Southwest France sounds like my kind of place – largely unpopulated, with varied and distinctive wine regions, forests and vineyards. While many places around the world beckon, I could spend a lot of time enjoying the scenery and delving into winemaking and viticulture here.

Alas, my journey today is virtual. But thanks to Carol, a local wine retailer, I was able to taste two Tannat blends – one from Madiran and the other from Irouléguy – for the French Winophiles focus this month on Southwest France.

Tannat and Cabernet blends are common to Southwest France. Tannat sounds like “tannic,” and as the name implies, this grape is known for structure (read “tannin”) as well as color and acidity. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are often the blending partners in the wines of Madiran and Irouléguy and various other appellations in this corner of France. If you can believe it, Cabernet is used to soften Tannat. That gives you an idea for how grippy Tannat actually is.

Most of these wines benefit from aging at least a few years, though some producers are destemming grapes to reduce tannins and create wines for earlier drinking.

The Winophiles will be chatting about the wines of Southwest France on Saturday, 5/21, starting at 8 am PT/11 am ET, on Twitter. Hope you can join us for an hour of learning and sharing. Simply follow the #Winophiles hashtag.

In addition, some of the French Winophiles are posting articles about wines from Southwest France to their blogs this month. I recommend taking a look at these articles and the pairings many of these bloggers share. You can find the complete list at the bottom of this post.

Starting the journey in Madiran

Madiran is a village in the gently rolling countryside of Gascony, in the far southwest of France. This area is famous for rich, gamey food like duck and cassoulet and robust red wine. Although 60 miles east of the Atlantic coast, the climate here is generally warm and dry. Tannat grown here is able to ripen fully in this climate.

Shaped by Pyrenean moraines, the Madiran region is composed of a succession of south/north-oriented valleys. Its multiple slopes have an east-west exposure. These moraines mark the transition between the foothills of the Pyrenees and the Landes, the forested coastal plains just south of Bordeaux.

Clay and silt limestone soils here are well draining and rich in minerals, reddish from iron and manganese oxide that have been washed down from the Pyrenees over thousands of years, and pebbly. The rolled pebbles and clay in the soil are called “pouzzolanes,”

Sources: Maison Léda, wine-searcher

The Lesgourgues Family

Established in 1982 by the Lesgourgues family, Maison Léda was created to distribute the family’s Armagnacs (brandies). The third generation of the family expanded its portfolio in recent years to include independent producers of both wines and spirits.

Madiran vineyards are located in the Haut Béarn region, in the heart of the Vic Bilh, “old country” in the local dialect. Chateau Peyros is a 49-acre vineyard (70% Tannat and 30% Cabernet Franc) located in the southernmost part of the Madiran AOC. It takes its name from a Gascony word meaning “rocky location.” Planted over a rocky mass, it is the only vineyard in Maison Léda’s portfolio to benefit from full southern exposure. This exceptional amount of sunshine leads to greater maturation of grapes. The Lesgourgues family has reduced the use of chemicals by more than 40% since taking over this property.

The wine I tasted from this producer is a 2017 Chateau Peyros Tannat-Cabernet, Madiran AOC, 60% Tannat, 40% Cabernet Franc.

• My tasting notes: Deep ruby red in color. Black cherry and earthy mushroom on the nose. Black cherry and sour cherry on the palate with slight fennel at the end of a medium finish. Medium+ acidity. Easy drinking and not as complex as the older Irouléguy wine (see below). Smooth tannins. Alcohol: 14.1% Price: $15.

Continuing south to Irouléguy

Irouléguy is a small wine region located in Le Pays Basque – the French Basque Country – stretching along steep hillsides in the Pyrenees. It’s about as far south in France as it is possible to go before crossing the Pyrenees Mountains into the Pais Vasco of northern Spain. The tiny village of Irouléguy (Irulegi in the Basque language) is a classic Basque village of white painted houses with red shutters and terracotta tiled roofs.

This area consists of rocky moorland and lush, green rolling hills. Vineyards range in altitude from 650 to almost 1,500 feet and can have steep inclines of up to 70%. They are often planted along narrowly cut terraces that require an enormous amount of hand labor. Vineyards face south and are protected by the surrounding mountain peaks from the wet weather coming off the Atlantic. The cool and wet springs are balanced by an “Indian summer” that allows the full ripening of the grapes into October.

The characteristic soil of Irouléguy is a red sandstone rich in iron. Other sites have a richer mix of clay/limestone and some outcrops of limestone.

Sources: wine-searcher, Wine Traditions, Ltd.

The Brana Family

For more than a century, four generations of the Brana family have plied the wine trade. Theirs is a fascinating story. Here’s a summary from Wine Traditions, Ltd.:

The Branas started as wine and spirits negociants in the Pays Basque in 1897. Eighty-seven years later, in 1974, Etienne Brana decided to plant a pear orchard and build a distillery in Saint Jean Pied de Port to focus on distilling local fruits such as pears, plums and raspberries. In 1984, Etienne planted about 50 acres of vines, becoming one of the first in Irouléguy to replant grapes lost to the phylloxera epidemic.

Tragically, in 1992, the year before completion of a new winery built into the steep hills above Saint Jean Pied de Port, Etienne died. His wife, Adrienne, and their two children, Martine and Jean, took over. Jean studied enology to prepare for managing the vineyards and winemaking. Martine, meanwhile, took over the distilling. In 2018, a new structure was built housing a new distillery and tasting room. The family’s accomplishments are recognized not only in the Pays Basque, but internationally.

Jean Brana gave up his organic farming certification because the copper treatment was producing toxicity in his soils. He also abandoned most of the biodynamic remedies he used, moving to a biodiversity that encouraged natural flora and fauna to flourish. Since then, insects and birds have returned to the vineyard along with 110 plant species. To celebrate, Jean redesigned all the wine labels. Now, each one features one of the birds found in his vineyard.

I opened a 2011 Brana “Ohitza,” Irouléguy AOC, a red blend of Tannat, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Ohitza is the Basque word for “tradition.” Fermentation of the grapes takes place in stainless steel with a maceration of around 17 days. The wine is aged 70% in barrels from three to five years old and 30% in cement tanks. Every three months, the wine is racked, assembled and then redivided among the barrels and tanks. After a year, a final assemblage is made and then goes into barrel and tank until bottling, 18 months after harvest.

• My tasting notes: Ruby with a brick red hue. Lots of tertiary, cooking spice flavors in this wine, which I love. Cherry and cloves are both strong on an earthy nose. The palate is a blend of cherry, cloves and allspice with medium acidity and a hint of vanilla at the end of a medium+ finish. Smooth tannins. Alcohol: 13.5%. Price: $26. At 11 years old, this wine is peaking and beautiful right now.

Let’s eat!

In this southwestern corner of France, cuisine tends toward rich foods like duck and cassoulet. I generally cook in a lighter style. Yet, I recognize these regional red wines appreciate fat and protein for binding with the molecules in their tannic structure. So I landed on two meals I thought would suit both my dietary preferences and these wines: arugula salad with prosciutto and oyster mushrooms (lunch) and lean bison burgers with cabbage slaw (dinner).

Oyster mushrooms are meaty, and prosciutto and pecorino cheese give the salad enough fat and protein to be a lively, suitable match for these two wines. As for the burgers, they were simply amazing and went splendidly with the wines as well. Success!

As promised, here are the links to all the posts on Southwest French wines. Enjoy!

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Garlic and Herb-Rubbed Standing Pork Rib Roast + Château Laulerie Bergerac Rosé 2020  
• Robin at Crushed Grape Chronicles: Fish, cheese, and red wine. Exploring the Basque region of Irouléguy
• Jeff at Food Wine Click!: Deconstructed Tartine & Domaine de L’Astré Pèlroge
• Deanna at Wineivore: Organic Negrette & Manseng Wines from SW France Paired with Southwest Sliders
• Jane at Always Ravenous: Affordable Wines from Southwest France: Tasting & Pairings
• Cindy at Grape Experiences: A Taste of Southwest France: Nature Secrète Saint Mont 2018 and Sauteed Duck Breasts with Mushrooms
• Nicole at Somm’s Table: Encounters with Tour des Gendres Pét-Nat with a Side of Risotto
• Gwendolyn at Wine Predator: Mauzac? SW France’s Domaine du Moulin Features This Unusual Grape in Methode Ancestrale Sparkler
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm: Visiting the Wines of Southwest France outside of Bordeaux
• Lynn at Savor the Harvest: Gascony Surprise: Meet Domaine de Joÿ in Southwest France
• Linda at My Full Wine Glass: Two Tannat-based wines from Southwest France