Chateau Bouscasse Pinot Noir 2017

tart red cherry, dried raspberry, pink peppercorn, rooibos tea, and smoke

This Pinot Noir comes from our friend Alain Brumont, winemaker behind Chateau Bouscasse and Chateau Montus. In the region of Madiran where he works, it may seem strange to see Pinot Noir as the most popular local variety is Tannat. However, there is some historical propriety here; the same monastic orders that propagated Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in Burgundy in the 15th century also carried those varieties throughout Gascogne. Though the monks are mostly gone, one can find both of these varieties grown at higher altitudes throughout southwest France.

To make this wine, all fruit is harvested by hand as it is next to impossible to drive a tractor up the steep hillsides at Bouscassé. After 3-4 weeks on the skins, the wine is racked to gently used French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic conversion. The finished wine then sees a brief maturation in predominantly new oak before bottling.

When you open this wine, similar to its cousins in Burgundy you will want to serve it closer to cellar temperature. On the palate, this wine is full-bodied but far from overripe. Drink now through 2025 with duck breast, beef stew with pearl onions, or any sort of quiche.