Plaimont, Château de Crouseilles, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2015

Made from vines surrounding the château, this approachable Madiran is robust, brooding and tannic enough to pair well with full-flavoured meat dishes, but has plenty of ripe dark fruit to balance the power. Ripe blackberry, plum and mulberry, well-integrated cedary oak, and a savoury edge. Firm but somehow smooth at the same time, a mix of traditional and modern, with a twist of black pepper on the finish.