The Madiran wine region of France is famous for its robust reds made from tannat but it is also the source of some fascinating whites from a relatively unknown grape variety, petit courbu, from an appellation that even French may find difficult to pronounce: Pacherenc de Vic Bilh.

A parcel of wine samples we recently received from southwest France caught my attention because it came from Alain Brumont, a leading figure in Madiran who has produced world-class reds for Chateaux Bouscasse and Montus for four decades. Recently, his stepson, Antoine Veiry, joined the domaine and since the 2018 vintage has applied what he has learned alongside Brumont (and from his experiences at Joseph Drouhin, Clos des Fees, Guigal and Carmes Haut-Brion, among others) to craft some of his own imaginative creations.

One of them is the Château Bouscassé Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec Montus 2018. Here, the thick skins of petit courbu combined with relatively high tannin tenor allowed for prolonged aging in oak, resulting in a structured, balanced wine that maintains all its freshness after many years in bottle.

Veiry explained via Zoom that a recent vertical tasting made clear that the wine only gets better with age. “My favorite wine to drink was actually the 1989,” he said. “It was amazing to see the potential.

He added: “Just a few regions in France and maybe in the world could age whites for more than 20 to 30 years.”

The wine is textural, balanced and has such a great patina while also being lively and precise with a long finish. It has many years ahead of it before it begins to peak.

– Kevin Davy, Tasting Manager