Tasting Notes:
Crimson color with violet reflections. Typical nose with prune, blackberry, and blueberry aromas. Frank and supple palate on the attack, fleshy wine wrapped in silky tannins.
Sommelier's advice
To drink now, or cellar for 3-5 years.
Serve at 17°C.
Food Pairing
Can accompany grilled meats, charcuterie, and cheeses.
Characteristics
Vineyard
Cahors – 3rd terrace of the Lot.
Winemaking
Traditional, combined with new winemaking techniques. Fermentation at 28°C with temperature control.
The Wine:
Cahors is a small town and red wine appellation in South West France, located 100 miles (160km) east of Bordeaux. In wine terms it is known for its deeply coloured reds made predominantly from Malbec (known locally as both Côt and Auxerrois), with small quantities of Tannat and Merlot. Interestingly, Cahors is the only red wine appellation in the South West that does not sanction the use of Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc.
Typical Cahors wine is darkly coloured and has a meaty, herb-tinged aroma, with hints of spiced black cherries and a whiff of cedar. Cahors is invariably tighter and leaner than the rich, opulent style of Malbec being made in the variety’s new-found home in Mendoza, Argentina.
Cahors lies roughly equidistant from both the Atlantic coast (to the west) and the Mediterranean coast (to the southeast). As a result, the climate here is subject to multiple influences: continental, maritime and Mediterranean.
Summer days are warmer and sunnier than in Bordeaux, making it easy for the local vignerons to achieve full phenolic ripeness in their grapes. This is important for Malbec and even more so for tannin-rich Tannat, which can be astringent if not properly ripened.
Rainfall here is significantly lower than on the Atlantic coast (780mm a year, compared with 930mm in Bordeaux). Consequently, the risk of fungal issues in the Cahors vineyards is quite low, minimizing the amount of disease-preventive spraying required.
The dry climate also means that vines experience slight hydric stress, forcing them to dig deep, strong root systems in search of water and also increasing the concentration of sugars and phenolic compounds in the grapes.
Grape Varieties
Malbec.
Other Information:
Please note: Vintage may vary when delivered. We do our best to ensure the current vintage is displayed as soon as available, but variations can occur.
- Serve at 18 degrees C
- 2018-vintage
- Boxes contain 6 x 750mL units
- FRA -Cahors, Imported
- Cork closure
- 0%. Alcohol Content:
In Brief
A really great Malbec: Here is what the markets says. Delicious, with some earthiness, some nuttiness, and some nice oak. It’s good to drink when opened, but it really improves with aeration. Intense ruby red, strong hints of red & blackcurrant and oak with medium+ tannin , medium acidity, full bodied. Medium finish. Nice. True Cahors Ruby with brown shade Dry Have some tannins Nose - dark berry, liquorice, wild berries In the glass - cherry, wild plum, pepper