Wine & Spirits - Fall 2018 - 68

GAME CHANGERS

Cahors
Malbec

Cahors has always been confusing to me: I knew the region mostly through reading books, where it's
often referred to as the land of "the black wine," and I knew its major grape, malbec, through Mendoza,
where it does, in fact, make dark, dense wines. But only some of the Cahors I've tasted are black.
Others are far lighter, with edgy tannins and acidity-and, to be honest, I prefer them. They have the
sort of structure that helps cut through pork terrines and roast duck. They have briskness, even grace.
It wasn't until recently, when I heard that Chilean geologist Pedro Parra was working in Cahors, that
the differences between styles began to make sense. Parra, who's a partner in Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina, has been one of the forces
in the modern Argentine move to plant malbec in calcium-rich soils. Cahors, it turns out, has plenty of limestone-only it's concentrated
in the hills at higher elevations, not on the valley floor where most of the region's vines grow. Contemporary Cahors growers are paying
more attention to the region's limestone terraces-and changing the definition of Cahors in the process. -T.Q.T.

Domaine Clos Siguier
2014 Cahors Les Camille
Vieilles Vignes
Off 80-year-old malbec vines
growing on clay and limestone,
this counters Cahors' reputation for big, black wines with
its delicate red-fruit tones and
sharp acidity. Aged in wooden
casks for two years, the wine is
ready now, the tannins fine and
gentle. (88 points, $18; Jenny &
François Selections, NY)

Château Combel La-Serre
2012 Cahors Malbec
"Super beautiful" is not an adjective applied often to Cahors, but
that was the first comment this
wine evoked from our panel. It's
not just about the aroma, a very
southwestern-French combination of garrigue and truffles, or
about the fruit, as firm as a perfectly ripe plum and not a bit
over. The wine comes together
quietly and precisely, the acidity sneaking through to bring
out some red fruit while the
gravelly tannins gently tether
the flavors to earth. (92 points, $19; Louis/
Dressner Selections, NY)

Georges Vigouroux 2014 Cahors
Château de Haute-Serre
Georges Vigouroux was one of the first people to resuscitate the wine scene in Cahors in the 1970s, planting
vineyards and restoring the Château de Haute-Serre.
Now run by his son, Bertrand-Gabriel, the property
extends across 161 acres of the region's rocky limestone
ridges. This wine is the most classic of the Vigouroux
Cahors we tasted, a cuvée fermented in stainless steel
and aged in used oak barrels. It's dense and chewy,
packed tight with notes of spiced plums and dried fruit,
with a hint of old leather and earth adding character.
(91 points, $24; Saranty Imports, Stamford, CT)

WINE & SPIRITS

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Château Combel La-Serre
2014 Cahors
Les Peyres Levades
This is dark and gritty in flavor, but carries a freshness that
makes it sing. Maybe that's
because of the blonde chunks
of limestone that pave the
vineyard, differentiating it
from others with more clay.
Or maybe it's just the touch
of Julien Ilbert, whose family
has grown grapes in Cahors
since 1901. Ilbert, who works
organically in the vineyards,
fermented this cuvée in stainlesssteel tanks and aged it in old 500-liter barrels. The fruit is as dark as blackberries,
with a floral-herbal note, like blossoming
thyme; the structure is lean and firm, with
a sense of energy that gives it length. (93
points, $45; Louis/Dressner Selections, NY)

Château Lamartine
2014 Cahors Cuvée Particulière
This 70-acre estate in western Cahors sits within
reach of Atlantic breezes. The youngest vines to
contribute to this cuvée are nearing 50 years old;
the oldest were planted in 1952. That old-vine concentration comes through in the wine's density, the
dark fruit scented with chocolate and lilacs, while
the Atlantic coolness reads in its fresh, sunny fragrance and elegant feel. (92 points, $24; T. Edward
Wines, NY)

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