2016 Domaine Berthoumieu Vitis MCM Madiran is sold out.

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Wine Enthusiast: "Powerfully tannic" with "dense concentration"

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  • 95 pts Wine Enthusiast
    95 pts WE
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2016 Domaine Berthoumieu Vitis MCM Madiran 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

The Clydesdale of French Red Grapes

It had all the makings of a trap.

A well-known French distributor had invited us to an exclusive tasting event, held at a curtain-cloaked VIP room in one of Napa’s most opulent chophouses. It was billed as a contest of power and brawn between a lineup of New World and Old World Cabernet Sauvignons that we’d be tasting blind. Knowing the canny organizer, we suspected an ulterior motive.

Turns out it was a trap. Everyone wine-industry pro in the room wanted a piece of bottle number five, which possessed all the hallmarks of a blue-chip collectible.

The surprise: It wasn’t a Cabernet at all, but the 2016 Domaine Berthoumieu Vitis MCM Madiran. Crafted from gnarled 120-year-old Tannat vines and standing shoulder to shoulder with Napa Cabs three times the price, it picked up 95 points from Wine Enthusiast, which crowed over it as “a great pour,” it’s the whole package for red-wine lovers.

This wine is made with 100% Tannat—the Clydesdale of French red grapes. Almost no one brings as much style and panache to the grape as Domaine Berthoumieu. Founded in 1850, this estate is currently helmed by sisters Claire and Marion Bortolussi, who took the torch from sixth-generation owner Didier Barré, an iconic figure in Madiran.

The Vitis MCM cuvée is made from vines which, astonishingly, were planted in 1900 (hence the Roman numerals). The grapes are destemmed and fermented 30 days in cement tanks, where micro-oxygenation helps soften the wine’s stiff spine. After 18 months of aging, including a year in new French oak, it’s been resting and slowly uncoiling in bottle—drinking perfectly now, with decades of aging ahead of it.