2012 Château d'Aydie Madiran Odé d'Aydie - it was quite interesting when I managed to visit the Madiran in Southwest France. Many people miss out on it as it is a bit out of the way. Home of d'Artagnan, and Richard 1 of England though born in England wrote verse in the Gascon language. The main grape used is Tannat, which isn't generally that well known in the larger wine world. The red wines have to be at least 60% of that grape, but some producers use 100% tannat including this one.
It can be a difficult grape to identify in a blind tasting - impenetrable deep purple with a ripish nose of dark fruit might steer an American wine fan toward petite sirah or zinfandel. This one is still fairly young and passably tannic but it has begun to soften a bit and actually drinks rather well, although there is no rush. It is starting to smooth out and show class rather than raw weight. These will probably never be a wine of choice for the impatient buying public who expect to be able to pop a cork as soon as they get the wine home, but they do reward cellaring and it is worth throwing a case or two into the cellar and forgetting about it for a decade and then start trying one ever year or so. Also a great choice if you do blind tastings!
