Acknowledged as one of the best winemakers in the world, Alain Brumont has revived the Madiran wine and the Tannat grape variety. Today his Chateaux Bouscassé and Montus (AOP Madiran) vineyards produce world-class prizewinning wines.  

You have developed a genuine philosophy? 

I’m like the foot of the vine. I have come from the ground, I was born next to vines, and I live in partnership with my environment: the best soil and climate. I want to express the idea that I have about this environment, to interpret the essence of the soil, the climate and allow people to enjoy this alchemy in a glass five, 20 or 30 years from now .... I want to offer the best interpretation of the Gascony region and a wine to accompany all the important moments and events in life.

And a very personal method? 

Each portion of my vines is separated by wood to protect them from contamination; I am one of the rare winegrowers who doesn’t use insecticides! I only use water from our springs, which come out of our unpolluted hills. Our vines have grass growing around them, the land is rich in ancestral plant life and the vine rows are perfectly orientated so that the grapes get 15 hours of sunlight each day. Each grape receives individual attention (200 hectares of vines are pruned five to seven times a year). That is almost a world record!

Is the winemaking also performed in a special way?

We hope to nourish the imagination of the wine tasters by telling a story: about humanity, a particular place, a specific soil, a civilization ... To give them sensations of taste, smell and even touch. These are the elements of winemaking. It is the art of composing the ideal division between the grape varieties and the land and giving your wine something special, which will make it unique and exceptional.