The owner of the specialty wine store, Bella Vino, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, enjoyed the  2005 Pigmentum wine from G. Vigouroux: "From the home of Malbec, a grape which made famous the ‘Black Wines of Cahors’, this mellow earthy wine has a delicious warmth of flavour so typical of this region. Pronounced dark cassis and plum fruits, overlaid with liquorice and vanilla. A mature wine, rich and robust with a pleasant flavoursome finish. ($15.99) "

Our Irish friend, Julian Alubaidy, from Bubble Brothers wine store and author of the bubblebrothers blog, noticed a great tasting of Cahors Clos Triguedina 2005 mentioned in The Irish Times: "One of the best-known names in Cahors, made by Jean-Luc Baldès. Elegant relatively ripe redcurrant and dark fruits, with some austerity, and good mineral length. Drink or keep. Try it with substantial red meat dishes. Stockist: Bubble Brothers, Cork."

As journalist John Wilson stated in The Irish Times article, Cahors Malbec wines "are great wines to drink alongside a rare steak or grilled duck breast, but not easy to drink on their own. But at a higher level, there are a number of very ambitious growers who make superb wines. Some have opted for a more modern route, using ripe fruits, micro-oxygenation and new oak. Others favour a more traditional style, firm and unyielding for the first few years, wonderfully piquant and elegant (but never charming) with a few years’ age."

If you feel like learning more about Cahors Malbecs in Irleand, read Julian's post or Wilson's article. Julian also talked to us in a podcast downloadable on our blog.