The Dark Wines of Cahors - TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 15

INTRODUCTION
This week we continue our discovery of the lovely wines of South West France and move on to Cahors. The wine making region of Cahors has been famous for many centuries and was long known for its dark inky wines that were distinct from the lighter wines of Bordeaux. Cahors makes a lot of wine and it is the second biggest AOC after Bergerac in South-West France.

Dark, tannic but lovely!

LOCALITY
The wines of Cahors come from around the town of Cahors which is the capital of the Lot department and is situated on a bend in the Lot River. It is a little South East of Bergerac and Bordeaux.

VARIETALS
The defining varietal of Cahors wine is the Malbec grape which locally is also called Auxerrois or Cot. The Malbec grape must make up at least 70% of the blend with the rest being Merlot and/or Tannat. Almost all Cahors wines are blends and thus few are 100% Malbec unlike Argentina who have made the grape variety famous having imported it from the Cahors area.

THE WINES
All AOC wines from Cahors are red and dark red at that. The inky blackness of old Cahors wines was sometimes made darker by heating some of the Malbec grape juice to concentrate its colour. Interest in Cahors has been growing since Argentina have made Malbec fashionable.

THE TASTE
The wines tend to fall into three main styles – the older style that is very tannic and needs ageing before it is drinkable, the more approachable modern fruity style, and the style that tries to mimic the Argentinian Malbecs.

TOP TIPS
• Look out for Cahors as it is the French expression of the Malbec grape and is reasonably priced for the quality. Do try the different styles.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try a Cahors wine. It may include one of the following wines from very good producers but I also recommend a trip to Les Caves des Pyrenes:

Waitrose – Le Malbec du Clos Triguedina 2008 Cahors – about £8. (Traditional)
Majestic – Chateau de Gaudou Cuvee Renaissance 2007/8 Cahors – about £12 (Traditional)
Majestic – Chateau de Gaudou Cuvee Tradition 2008 Cahors – about £8 (more approachable)

FOOD PAIRINGS
The lighter fruity wines will go with pork and chicken dishes.
The more tannic wines will go with lamb or traditional local dishes such as Cassoulet.

COMING SOON
Next week we move on to the wines of Gaillac and Marcillac. If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up. Just click on the French Wine Course link at the top of this page.