The secret... ? It is the alchemy between the soil, a specific vine and grape growers. Nowhere other than in the Lot valley has the Malbec grape produced wines with such a depth. Our ancestors in the Middle Ages strived to make it even more concentrated by heating some of the grapes in cauldrons. It is not the case any more but Cahors wines continue to be black and defy time. Its intensity and richness in tannins are the key to its eternal youthful robe: certain Cahors places are still serving a rare 1950 vintage!

Several centuries after the decline of the Cahors wines, hedonists are rediscovering a taste for dense and complex wines with elegance and finesse, without so much concentration. Only a handful of varieties can conciliate an inky color with harmonious flavors. The Malbec, symbol of the Lot valley, figures among the rare types of wine producing a real black wine. Cahors is the first appellation to make this fact official.

How would one pair this dark and dense wine with food? First, it needs to be decanted, especially when young and still tannic. Then choose your food: cassoulet and duck, of course but also a loin of lamb from a Quercy farm, a sweet and sour dish, Provence cuisine. Foie gras suits it to a tee.

Those qualities have not gone unnoticed by the local chefs who have defended Cahors wine for many years. Won over by this new title, they were the first ones to add the Black Wine range to their wine lists. The good news spread: the Paris area restaurants also put it on their list. Olivier Poussier, 2000 World Sommelier, became the ambassador of the Cahors wine during the 2007 Vinexpo.

Cahors is back! Malbec is black!

If you are in France in August and missed our wonderful International Malbec Days, you have a chance to catch up: the Cahors Wine Fetsival is happening in Puy-L'Eveque on August 9.

Read all the details in frenchduck.com blog!

In the Middle Ages when cork was unknown, the wines were transported in barrels and could scarcely resist the tests of time. They all ended their journey oxidised and sour, to the extent that water had to be added to make them drinkable. All with the noticeable exception of Cahors wines: they were endowed with a fabulous quality. They did not age and retained intact the freshness of their aromas despite chaotic sea travels. Shrewd traders from the Gironde rapidly understood what this elixir could earn them. Rather than sell Cahors wine for its own sake, they used it to improve their own wine!

Cahors wine was as strong as a liqueur but mild as velvet. At this time, when the Gironde was still only marshes, its vines were producing clear juice, too light to resist the rigors of a long journey. Cahors wine arrived at the right moment to strengthen their weak aspect and enable them to travel without too much damage. The English, with their discerning palates, were quick to discover the value of this wine. That's how the Black Wine entered into the court of this world's great wines. In the 18th century, the advent of the bottle, cork and sulphur, as well as the improvement in viticulture in the Bordeaux area, put an end to the Black Wine saga so dear to the English. It made way for clear wines, light and cool to the palate, which new techniques allowed to be preserved. Cahors wine still kept its fine reputation, but not its status as a Bordeaux medicinal wine.

Zette, the wine launched by the famous Château de Lagrezette, is strongly recommended on a wine blog for its qualities:

"JUICY, FULLER-BODIED REDS

Zette 2003 Malbec, Cahors | $11

The ground-floor wine from Domaine de Lagrezette, which is looking to put the once-famous “black wines” of Cahors, in the southwest of France, back on the map. A stone bargain, with lush depths of wonderful sappy, ripe blueberry/blackberry fruit. (Frederick Wildman)"

It is very interesting to note that, when A.D. Perrin creates the "Pourpre" brand to counter the black wine strategy, his own wine is considered as one of the best representatives of this category.

Despite the phylloxera disaster, the local wine industry was kept in place. But the hybrids used produced only pale copies of the original wines. In 1947, some vintners decided to found the Parnac cooperative winery. Their objective was to restore the Malbec variety, the grape originally used to produce the Cahors black wine. They ended up acquiring seedlings from an estate grower in Bordeaux. The current vineyards originates from these plants.

Unfortunately, in 1956, the frost ruined once again many wine growers from the area. But none of them despaired and all got quickly back to work. The Cahors Wine Brotherhood was created in 1964. In 1971, the Cahors Black Wine was promoted to Controlled Appellation. At the moment, some 4,500 ha can produce Controlled Appellation Cahors wines.

In 1866 the vineyard represented some 58,000 hectares. But as early as 1865, a microscopic aphid, extremely detrimental to vines, and well known under the name of phylloxera, appered in France. It destroyed the entire vineyard of Cahors.

The 100 Years War put an end to a long period of prosperity. A 1373 mandate offered an advantage to the wine production of Gironde, as it overtaxed the wines of the hinterland, especially Cahors.

Despite this discrimination, which was only to be abolished in the 18th century, Cahors remained a renowned wine, appreciated by the likes of François I, who asked for a wine with the "Cahors" grape variety to be planted at Fontainebleau, and Peter the Great of Russia who imposed it upon the Orthodox Church. In his World History of Wine, Hugh Johnson pointed out in refernce to the 17th century that, when it comes to red, the Dutch preferred strong and dark beverages, like Cahors, their ideal wine.