I am utterly enamored of this wine. Alain Bortolussi produces the most elegant, finesseful Madiran in rough and tumble Gascogne; he is a chess master in the land of burly Rugby players. Some of it is due to the fact that he has older vines and keeps his yields well in hand (lower yields mean full ripeness and hence avoidance of the disturbingly shrill character of underripe tannat). Perhaps it is the higher percentage of cabernet franc in the blend. (He is also a rigorous bubbler.) In any event, ...