Not all winemakers can produce great wines. But a great wine can pop up anywhere.
It is in Montreal-du-Gers, in the country of Armagnac, that one finds an oxidative UFO, an atomic bomb, an unlikely colossus loaded with its armada of flavors. Simply one of the best white wines to discover the wonderful oxidative variations that bloom elsewhere than in the Jura, especially in this Gascogne so dear to Dominique ANDIRAN.
Former ski and sailing instructor, Dominique ANDIRAN is at the head of this vineyard conducted in organic agriculture. This self-taught wine maker produces surprising, original and instinctively worked wines from the variety of regional Aboriginal grape varieties. Radically different from its neighbours of the Côtes de Gascogne, it chose the way of an inspired fantasy to express its terroir, a world where dry and mellow wines coexist with late tries vinified in dry, or with sailing wines aged six years in barrels, The Ruminant of the Vines.
The label gives the tone: simple, plain, and a bit uncool. How could it be otherwise so that this powerful and opulent wine has trouble hiding its Gascon roots. 100% big manseng! But this variety does not mean success. It takes the paw of a large winemaker to produce a large white. It also takes a touch of genius and madness to produce a great white wine grown under veil. Dominique ANDIRAN will tell you: «we must intervene as little as possible and let nature do its work, use indigenous yeasts, extract and bottle when the moon goes down and the Earth’s attraction is more important to avoid collage and filtration». But not everyone succeeds in such a master stroke by working in nature !
But let’s discover this nectar more. The nose is opulent, powerful and bewitching. First of all, the oxidative aromas strike the nostrils (walnuts, apples and curries) but behind it we discover very quickly other aromas typical of the wines of the Southwest since honey, beeswax and quince are jostled.
A nose to make Cyrano pale. In the mouth, all the finesse and refinement of a wine raised under veil, the power of Gascogne with a palette of flavours simply impressive. The other Ruminant effect of the vines, an impressive length. This wine will remain forever in your memory from the first tasting.
There, everything is said, and in fact nothing is said, for the words are insufficient, superfluous, imperfect to describe this immense sensation that the Ruminant of the Vines provides.
Sources : https://vinpassion.wordpress.com/
Ruminant des Vignes 2007 (Domaine Haut-Campagnau – Dominique Andiran) for sale on the website www.cashiswine.fr/en
