Tuesday 19 February 2013

22 Vintages of Wines From Alain Brumont - Part II

In Part I of this massive tasting I posted notes on the vertical of Cuvée Prestige and two other bottles that were presented.
Now it is time to comment on the 9 bottle vertical of La Tyre that also was poured. The La Tyre cuvée comes from a strict selection of grapes from a small parcel at the highest hill in the Madiran appellation. It consists of 100% Tannat that are fermented in oak casks and then gets 16-18 months in 100% new oak barrels.

2000 Château Montus La Tyre
A deep, fine, elegant nose with lovely notes of sweet lingonberries, cranberries, rosehip, smoke and leather. Very mineral driven nose. Deep and fine. This is cool and elegant. Lovely laid back fruit.
The taste is all about finesse, with sweet red fruit paired with finely polished tannins and a long, balanced finish. Lots of minerals in the finish. Pure and focused, this has entered its drinking phase but I wouldn´t hesitate to keep this for 8+ years. Real fine stuff.
93p   (tasted 2013/02)

2001 Château Montus La Tyre
In this vintage Alain Brumont really excelled - the Cuvée Prestige is fantastic - and this is truly a piece of art. The nose is bottomless deep and hauntingly beautiful with notes of ripe lingonberry and blueberry fruit, rosehip, dried flowers, black currant leaves, expensive lather, and a touch of a Cohiba cigarr. Very, very refined. A very fine warmth.
The taste is pure, elegant and sweet but with a tough core of sweet tannins, of which you can get a real sense of in the minute long finish. Gorgeous lingonberry fruit, warm tiles, cigarr ashes and leather are some of many flavors. Really, really fine. This is still young and I guess it could get even better with 6-8 years in the cellar.
96p   (tasted 2013/02)

2002 Château Montus La Tyre
The 2002 La Tyre is a much bigger success than the Cuvée Prestige of the same vintage. This wine has a big, warm but focused nose with notes of lingonberry pie, hot earth, bonfire and a fine perfumed note. Medium deep.
The taste is upfront, warm and juicy with lots of sweet lingonberry and blueberry fruit with some additional notes of autumn leaves, leather, bonfire and the same perfumed note as on the nose. A long, warm, fine finish. This is good. But it won´t keep forever, for drinking now and for the next decade.
90p   (tasted 2013/02)

2003 Château Montus La Tyre
A big, warm, intense nose with a lot of warmth, a tad too much for my liking. There is notes of cooked red fruit, sweet licorice, leather, balsa wood and cherry heering liqueur. Misses the elegance found in the other vintages of La Tyre.
The taste is big, sweet and warm with lots of ripe fruit, plenty of tannins and a long, warm finish. I find the structure a bit too massive. I don´t think that this will age well. But for now it is a big mouthful of uncomplicated, sweet Tannat.
85p   (tasted 2013/02)


2005 Château Montus La Tyre
A deep, fine, elegant nose with beautiful blueberry fruit and complementary notes of pressed flowers, smoke, warm tiles, leather and some vanilla powder. Very, very fine.
The taste is tight, intense, pure and utterly gorgeous with its sweet lingonberry and blueberry fruit with some warm herbs, rosehip, cigarr ashes and dark chocolate tossed in. The finish goes on for a minute and the ripe tannins come through in the end. This is for laying down and forget about for at least 5 years.
93p   (tasted 2013/02)

2006 Château Montus La Tyre
A deep, fine, seedy nose with a Bordeaux like nose with notes of sweet black currants, fresh stables, bay leaves, lingonberries and some cedarwood. Very, very fine. This had depth and elegance, although very young still.
The taste is young, tight and intense with fine sweet fruit that hits the palate before a wave of tannins sweeps everything else away. This needs a lot of time. But the fruit is there for something great along the line, but wait at least 10 years for this one. Fine notes of black currants, bay leaves and some balsa wood notes in the long, long finish.
92p   (tasted 2013/02)


2007 Château Montus La Tyre
A fresh, forward, medium deep nose with notes of red and black currants, charcoal, gravel and dried flowers. A bit more open than the surrounding vintages. Very good though.
The taste is more concentrated than the nose with dark, inky fruit paired with notes of licorice, mineral, bonfire and dried flowers. A long, fresh, intense finish. Very, very good. Needs 3-5 years in the cellar.
90p   (tasted 2013/02)

2008 Château Montus La Tyre
Aaaaaah, this is fine! A hauntingly deep, intense and mighty nose with notes of sweet black currants, hot gravel, dried flowers, charcoal, new leather and some dark chocolate. Very, very deep and fine. Manage to be both brutal and light on its feat. With air there is a lovely meaty note. Stunning!
The taste is all about immense power, intensity and elegance wrapped up in a gorgeous package. There are sweet notes of red and black currants, dried flowers, rosehip, mineral and a fine bonfire note. The finish goes on for over a minute. This will be something else when it grows up, in about 8-10 years.
95p   (tasted 2013/02)


2009 Château Montus La Tyre
A very deep, concentrated, young nose with lots of sweet primary fruit - lingonberries, blueberries and some black currants, with additional notes of licorice, bay leaves, lavender and a touch of meat stock. Very powerful but a bit ungainly today. This needs to settle down. But the quality is there.
The taste is very young, powerful and all over the palate with its immense sweet fruit, perky tannins and a long, long, warm finish. Very concentrated. This needs at least 8+ years before doing the deed. But I guess that this will turn out great.
92p   (tasted 2013/02)

This was an impressive line up of great wines, with more balance and elegance than the Cuvée Prestige´s. Real world class wines (except for the 2003). It should be fun watching these wines mature. They need time...

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