Get that corkscrew twistin' like Chubby Checker! Open some Madiran. Yes, little known Madiran! The wine that comes from where the duck breasts sizzle, the foie gras melts in your mouth and Stayin Alive is easy with all that resveratrol in your glass!

Hey all you out there who think you're wine adventurers. Here's one for you. Pour this Madiran in your glass and you'll say, "What was so adventurous about that? This is just great wine I've been missing out on."

I couldn't wait to get to Madiran which is in remote territory almost three hours south of Bordeaux (which means you're not too far from Spain) because I've wanted to import a Madiran for a long time.

One off-site taste of the Laplace Madiran several weeks earlier told me this Madiran was definitely the one; I had been instantly seduced by its fearless, rich blackberry and currant flavors and its roundness.

Oh and by the way, Madiran is the wine with the most, I mean really the most resveratrol, which is the stuff that keeps you alive and pumping. Did you see that episode of 60 Minutes? They made this sound like the fountain of youth. It looks like this is stuff makes your organs think they're thirty again or so scientists tell me. But, even if you're skeptical, what's the down side? This is very good-tasting medicine and I plan to be pulling a lot of corks from now on just to be safe.

The Laplace family estate is called Chateau d'Aydie (die-dee).

Here's what Andrew Jefford (The New France) says about d'Aydie:

"This is one of the most immaculately and professionally run domains in the whole of France."

La Revue du Vin de France says, "The wines made here offer very beautiful harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and the firmness of the tannins."

Chateau d'Aydie is the name of their flagship wine and well as their estate. This wine is 100% Tannat. It has extraordinary freshness because of the clay/chalk soil. The vines are 30 years old. The juice is aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, 50% of which are new.

Chateau d'Aydie also produces a very fine wine everyday priced wine they call Laplace Madiran which is 80% Tannat and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It fills your mouth with rich and rounded berry flavors and you're still tasting it long after there is just a little purple stain in your glass.

You can't have a discussion about Madiran without talking about Tannat. Tannat is Madiran. And, it is not an easy-going little breed. It can't be machine-harvested because the machine can't shake those stubborn grapes off the vine.

Then, add to that, Tannat takes forever to ripen. So, break out of your molds and give these two south-westerners a try. Get the duck breasts browning and the corkscrew working. These Madirans are fantastic and you'll have a lot of fun serving them. There will be appreciative murmurs around the table and they'll probably think they're drinking a flashy Bordeaux. They don't have to know that it cost about half as much. Cynthia Hurley

http://www.chateauloisel.com/img_bg/01002160.gif The Laplace Madiran label

To order just hit reply and let me know how many cases. Delivery will be immediate.

The Details

Madiran Laplace 2007 $167.88 per 12-bottle case ($13.99)

Chateau d'Aydie 2007 $311.88 per 12-bottle case ($25.99)

Mixed Case 12 bottles total, 6 of each wine $239.88 ($19.99)