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Château Montus

Château Montus is the flagship domaine of the region's leading winemaker, Alain Brumont, who also owns Château Bouscasse as well as Meinjarre, La Rosée and La Tyre. These estates represent some of the greatest terroirs of Madiran, which are spread over more than twenty hills within the appellation. Château Montus has the more classic terroir of all the domaines, being sited on a gravel hillside, with an incline of 5-10%, in contrast to the heavier clay soils of Château Bouscasse.

Brumont purchased Montus in the 1980s, not long after his return from Bordeaux, and by the time the 1990 vintage had passed he was regularly hailed as one of the South West's greatest winemakers. In the vineyard major changes were implemented, starting with extensive replanting with a doubling of the vine density to 8000 plants/ha, with a mixture of tilled soil or a grass cover crop between the rows. Yields are low, certainly less than 40 hl/ha, sometimes less than 30, ensured by a green harvest. The vineyards are almost exclusively Tannat, with some Merlot, and some white varieties. The harvest sees a detailed sorting before fermentation, preceded by a cold soak of up to ten days to increase extraction. The cap sees automatic pigeage. A variety of oak is used, depending on the cuvée, including a little of American origin, although the majority is French. The wines see 100% new oak, with the super-cuvée XL residing in 400 litre barrels for up to three years. The wines undergo malolactic in barrel - there is no micro-oxygenation here, by the way - and are racked twice before bottling without filtration.

The straight Château Montus is predominantly Tannat, although with a secondary variety blended in, often Merlot although it may also be Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cuvée Prestige is a selection of up to 100% Tannat, as is the Cuvée XL, although this sees a different program of oak ageing as explained above. There is in addition a dry white, a Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec, 100% Petit Courbu, barrel fermented and partly aged in new oak with some batonnage. (16/8/05)

Contact details:
Address: 32400 Maumusson-Laguian
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 62 69 74 67
Fax: +33 (0) 5 62 69 70 46

Château Montus - Tasting Notes

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Château Montus Madiran Cuvée Prestige 2003: This more recent vintage carries an awe-inspiring 15% alcohol. On inspection it has a sweet and glossy hue. The nose isn't that expressive, but on the palate it has a big and bold substance, certainly very rich, and it seems highly extracted too. Whether that was intentional or inevitable in such an unusual vintage is difficult to know, but it carries a great pile of tannins, with a hot and raw structure. And there is little in the way of perfume or complex flavour here, mirroring the closed character on the nose. It is difficult to judge this mass of structure but it doesn't fill me with hope. From a not the 1989 vintage tasting with Handford Wines. 14.5+?/20 (October 2010)

Château Montus Madiran Cuvée Prestige 1999: Deep, intense colour, right out to the rim. Smoky, smouldering charcoal nose, laid over with a meaty, animalistic aroma. A very firm presence on the palate; full, rich in dark cherry fruit, although revealed only with persuasion. This wine needs time, another five years I suspect, to relax and yield these flavours more readily. A very dry, tannic structure, but there is good balance. Very good indeed. 16.5+/20 (August 2005)

Alain Brumont Vendemiaire Octobre (Pacherenc du Vic Bilh, France) 1996: Pale orange hue. Decent honeyed notes and some botrytis on the nose. Sweet, lightly textured, well balanced. Lovely stuff. Simple, but clean and refreshing on the palate. 16.5/20 (September 2003)

Château Montus Madiran 1995: A good depth of colour for ten years of age. Maturing berry fruit nose, a touch of leather, woodspice and cloves. Good, full palate. Firm texture; showing strong tannins and very firm acidity, which peaks at the endpalate. This provides the structure for a maturing palate, not quite showing the seamless integration of a great wine at present. Burnt coffee and berry fruit flavour. Has potential, but will remain a firm, masculine style. 15.5+/20 (August 2005)

Château Montus Madiran Cuvée Prestige 1989: Madiran, principally a blend of Tannat and Cabernet Sauvignon, certainly has the necessary structure to age well, as evinced by the second of these bottles (the first was corked). A dark and concentrated hue, and it is still quite glossy at the core; plenty of pigment for sure here. Good nose too, solid and evolved, a touch gamey at the edges. It is correspondingly dense and firm on the palate, very broad and sweet, rather gamey, but darkly concentrated. A touch earthy but with the sweetness alongside it works well. Full and with plenty of solid substance even in the finish. This will go for years and years yet. A remarkable effort from an oft-overlooked and under-rated appellation. From a tasting of the 1989 vintage at Handford Wines. 17+/20 (October 2010)