La Madeleine
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from vintage release, allowing the robust tannins to soften and complex tertiary notes to emerge.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Confit de canard, slow-cooked cassoulet, grilled ribeye steak
✨ Technical Specifications
Hailing from the historic Saint-Mont appellation in South-West France, La Madeleine is one of Plaimont's most prestigious red cuvées. This wine is a tribute to the ancient terroir of the region, specifically sourced from select hillside parcels characterized by variegated clay and limestone soils. The name itself pays homage to the local heritage and the historic site of La Madeleine. Crafted predominantly from Tannat alongside local companions Pinenc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine undergoes careful vinification and barrel aging to tame the powerful, rustic tannins of the region's signature grape. The result is a deeply concentrated, complex red that beautifully marries dark berry fruit, black tea, and elegant structure, embodying the soulful, rugged elegance of the Pyrenean foothills.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1979 through the union of wine cooperatives in Plaisance, Aignan, and Saint-Mont spearheaded by André Dubosc, Plaimont is an undisputed viticultural vanguard in Gascony and the Pyrenean foothills. Spanning diverse terroirs across AOC Saint-Mont, Madiran, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, and Côtes de Gascogne, its vineyards are defined by variegated soils of tawny sands (sables fauves), limestone, and clay-rich molasse tempered by Atlantic and mountain currents. Renowned worldwide for its preservation of ampelographic heritage—exemplified by its private conservatory and historic ungrafted pre-phylloxera plots in Sarragachies—Plaimont has revived forgotten indigenous varieties such as Tardif, Arrufiac, and Manseng Noir. In white vinification, Plaimont champions crystalline freshness, precise reductive aromatic protection, and thoughtful lees contact, highlighting local Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and Colombard. Landmark cuvées include Cirque Nord, Les Cépages Préservés, and Les Vignes Retrouvées, presenting tensile minerality, bright citrus, exotic orchard fruit, and textural salinity emblematic of southwest France.
🍇 Grapes
Tannat, Pinenc, Cabernet Sauvignon