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GASCONY & THE LANDESContinued…Porthos: [he puts the rope around his neck and prepares to jump] Farewell, world... farewell to useless Porthos.[jumps][Aramis and Athos are watching the building from the outside]Aramis: It’s alright; I sawed through the beam.[the building promptly collapses, and Athos stares at Aramis in disbelief]Aramis: Well, I’m a genius, not an engineer!The Three MusketeersCHATEAU D’AYDIE, FREDERIC LAPLACE, MadiranThe Laplace family, owners of Château d’Aydie, are among the region’s top producers. The family’s ancestorFrédéric Laplace is one of Madiran’s pioneers, who managed to raise the profile of the appellation to a worldwideaudience. He was also behind the creation of the appellation in 1948. Aramis (as this cuvée is sometimes known), avin de pays, is made from 60% Tannat and 40% Syrah. It may be the mere cadet to Laplace’s musketeerial Madiran,but it has buckets and bouquets of élan and panache of its own. The colour is a vivid purple and the nose playfullyconfidential revealing depth behind the aromatic primary fruit and suggesting notes of roasted coffee beans, darkchocolate, with black currants and plum. The wine is firm and fresh, smoky, savoury and definitely moreish. Thefinish has firm and gripping tannins that linger. Time to dig out that tin of goose or duck fat that you bought ages agoand still haven’t used to roast some serious potatoes to accompany a confit of duck.2012 COTES DE GASCOGNE ROUGE “ARAMIS” RDOMAINE DE MENARD, ELIZABETH JEGERLEHNER, Côtes de GascogneSituated in Bretagne d’Armagnac Domaine de Ménard is one of the new wave of estates making highly reckonable Gasconwhite. The terroir for the Cuvée Marine is special with a subsoil comprising decomposed seashell (similar to that of Chablis)with a clay/calcareous topsoil, which allows the blend of Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng to express fully itsminerality and purity. The baby Gascogne is a blend of Colombard and Sauvignon with immediate tangy richness and grapeyfreshness. Subtle hints of spice and pear mingle with peachiness on the finish. The Marine is elegant and aromatic, withbeautifully defined citrus flavours of lemon and grapefruit and mineral notes of chalk and seashell.2012 COTES DE GASCOGNE SAUVIGNON COLOMBARD W2012 COTES DE GASCOGNE “CUVEE MARINE” WTime to buckle your squash- 16 -