Domaine Berthoumieu Madiran Cuvee Charles de Batz

Description

Domaine Berthoumieu Madiran Cuvee Charles de Batz is a made by winemaker Didier Barré at his small domaine (26 hectares) located in the village of Viella, in the north of the Madiran appellation. The domaine has been in the family since 1850 and Didier Barré is the 6th generation to own and run the domaine. Didier is a real enthusiast, passionate about his wines and respectful of the traditional character of the wine. The wines offer tremendous character and style, some of the best in the appellation. The domaine has two different plots – one on a pebbly, clay plateau to the west of the village facing south towards the Pyrenees, and the other a gravelly slope facing south east to the east of the village. Many of the vines on the estate are between 40 and 100 years old. These older vines yield fewer grapes, but their long roots will extract more mineral character and trace elements.

Domaine Berthoumieu Madiran Cuvee Charles de Batz named after the pseudonym that D’Artagnan uses when in hiding from the Cardinal’s men in The Three Musketeers. The region is the land of the musketeers and Charles de Batz was the name of the original Comte d’Artagnan. The grapes for the Cuvee Charles de Batz come from a 26 hectare vineyard which is situated on a combination of clay-calcareous and clay-siliceous soils. The vines have an average of 50 years old and its location means that they benefit from mild winters and very dry sunny autumns. Yields are restricted to 45 hectoliters per hectare. The wine is a blend of 90% Tannat with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are hand harvested, usually around the 20th September and each variety is vinified separately. The grapes are de-stemmed before pressing. The Tannat macerates for 21 days with daily pumping over, the Cabernet is macerated for 12 to 15 days. The wines are racked off before malolactic fermentation begins and the wines is then aged for 12 months in new oak barrels.

UK research published in 2006 has identified the naturally occurring antioxidant compound in red wine responsible for the reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease and the lowering of overall mortality in regular, moderate consumers of red wine. The research also identified that Madiran wines have rarely occurring extremely high concentrations of those antioxidant compounds. For further information read about Roger Corder’s Red Wine Diet.

Suitable for vegans and vegetarians.