History
Alain Brumont bought Château Montus in 1980, on the basis of the terroir's reputation in the 18th century. With its large reddish pebbles, this terroir is one of the last traces of the beginning of the Pyrenees, dating back 40 million years. Today's Pyrenees deposit large black pebbles marbled with white in our rivers.
Château Montus benefits from a superb terroir, unique in the Southwest, consisting of steep slopes with large pebbles on top of fine clay from the Pyrenees. A miracle occurred in 1985 when this wine upset the hierarchy of mythical red wines and was noticed all over the world, with its significant proportion of Tannat. Nicknamed the Petrus of the Southwest by a dozen wine critics for 30 years now, Château Montus expresses all the characteristics of these exceptional terroirs.
Alain Brumont among the greatest winemaker:
Elected among the 10 greatest wines in the world, Alain Brumont has rehabilitated ancient terroirs abandoned for nearly 50 years.
1979
Alain Brumont inherits his father's 17 hectare vineyard: Château Bouscassé.
1980
Alain Brumont buys Château Montus. It was at this point that he decided that the Tannat grape had the potential to make outstanding wines.
1985
First vintage of Montus Prestige. The first Madiran to be made from 100% Tannat and to be aged entirely in new barrels; it is dubbed the "Petrus of Madiran" by top international tasters. Thanks to this Prestige cuvée, a qualitative revolution takes place in Madiran, and the appellation is propelled to the ranks of France's finest. Madiran regains all its nineteenth century splendour.
1988
Construction of the underground barrel cellar at Château Bouscassé (1200 m²). It is the first cellar of this type to be built in the South
1990
Always looking for new terroirs, Alain Brumont finds a perfectly located 10 hectare hillside covered in large pebbles, providing ideal conditions for the Tannat grape; it is from this plot that he will produce Montus La Tyre, the finest Madiran ever made!
1991
Alain Brumont is rewarded with the title of Best French Winegrower of the 1980s by French magazine "Gault-Millau", and several articles in the press rank him among the world's top winemakers.
1995
Construction of a new winery at Château Montus, baptized the "Tannat Cathedral"!
1996
Château Montus Prestige 1995 is awarded the excellent score of 96 out of 100 points in Wine Advocate.
2000
First vintage of Montus La Tire.
2001
Launch of Torus, a new style of Madiran, offering tremendous power, depth, intensity, roundness, suppleness and elegance.
2003
Château Montus and the old winery are completely renovated; the château is converted into a superb venue for groups and seminars.
2005
Alain Brumont is selected to participate in the 2005 Wine Experience which assembles the world's 100 top wines in New York.
2006
Château Montus and Château Bouscassé are ranked among the finest wines in the world by Bettane and Desseauve in their eponymous book, "Les Plus Grands du Monde", in agreement with 50 other guides ranking the great wines of the world.
2007
A jury of 14 international tasters in Switzerland places Montus La Tyre 2001 third in the top ten of French wines.
Alain Brumont has plenty of plans for the future and doubtless has a few more surprises in terms of quality and style in store!
2010
Alain Brumont is voted to be in the top five French producers.