Highlight of Malbec Day 2 - A Tasting in Belaye
The International Malbec days are in full swing as all guests are safely sheltered in various hotels in Cahors and in the vineyards. The highlight of our day is a bus ride along the Lot river up to the view point of Belaye. Belaye is a medieval village overlooking a loop over the Lot River.
On the “buena vista” of Belaye there is a rest area where Anthony Rose conducted a very interesting tasting. We were seating around the picnic tables while Anthony bolddly stepped on a large stone to comment on the 10 wines selected by Cahors enologists Eric Filipiac and Mylene Doux:
- Clos de Gamot 2005
- Château de Haute-Serre, cuvée Giron-Dondine 2005
- Le Cèdre 2005
- Domaine La Bérangeraie 2008
- Château La Caminade, cuvée Esprit 2006
- Clos Triguedina 2006, cuvée Probus
- Château de Gaudou 2007
- Château de Mercuès 2007
- Château Lamartine 2007
- Château Chambert 2007
It was a very good and logical selection of wines: they were the various expressions of the different Cahors terroirs, lush, with lovely noses and, for most of them, a good ageing potential while drinking very well in their youth.
On our way back to Cahors, our tour guide, the charming Fabienne, took us on a little detour to the city of Puy l’Eveque, an other medieval city of the Lot region. In spite of the heat, we had a lovely day visiting the gorgeous country side of Cahors and tasting great wines.
D-Day: meeting all our guests in Cahors
Last night, Cahors launched the Third Edition of its International Malbec Days. Starting at 7:00pm until midnight, guests from France, the USA, Germany, Uruguay, China and many other countries gathered in the Cahors lounge next to the Valentré Bridge. In this international style lounge, more than 50 producers offered their wines to taste while, in the middle of the room, local and international chefs cooked their specialities.
Hervé Bourg, from Le Marché with Pablo Ranea from Argentina, Jean-François Dive from L’Ô à la bouche, Gilles Marre from le Balandre with Japanese chef Tomofumi Hirano, Jean-Claude Voisin from Le Vinois, Michel Carrendier from La Garenne, Jann Recourt from La Garrissade with the Mexican chef Miguel Quezada and Philippe Combet from Château de Mercuès awith Argentine chef Thiery Psozomka entertained more than 300 people.
But the party is over and this morning we were back at work with a presentation of the Malbec Terroir and the tasting of several wines conducted by British wine writer David Cobbold. In a little while we’ll be touring the vineyards of Cahors with Anthony Rose. More tomorrow!
The Cahors Malbec Lounge in New York
On February 18th, 2010, more than 150 wine professionals gathered at the top of the famous NYC Gansevoort Hotel on 9th Avenue. For the occasion the room became a Cahors Malbec Lounge trendy and fashionable. Dozens of powerful and intense Cahors Malbec wines were served. Positioned between $15 to $25, a very good value for their quality, they enthused the tasters who had only one word: “Waaooo!”.
Not very explicit but sounding like a great song to the ears of the Cahors winemakers!
Cahors, the Birthplace of Malbec
A fun tasting of Clos La Coutale 2006
Bloggers K & J - who keep very seriously their identity secret - had a fun tasting of Clos La Coutale 2006. It is a conversation between our two anonymous but deeply passionate bloggers. Through their conversations, they give information on the appellation, the city and the region of Cahors. Learn more about French Malbec while enjoying yourself!
Cahors Malbec, a difficult but innovative strategy?
PR specialist Tracy Schario Johnson tasted Cahors wines for the first time during the Washington DC event a few days ago. As a communication professional, she’s very much aware of the difficulty of promoting Cahors wines in the US: “Public relations is grounded in the ability to successfully create and/or change perceptions. It may be a tired maxim, but “perception is reality.””
How is Cahors wines perceived in the US? Awareness is rising but let’s be honest: when you say “Malbec” to an American wine consumer, he/she’ll answer “Argentina”. Cahors is now facing a very interesting challenge: to convince Americans that “Malbec” is synonymous of “Cahors”, a rather small place in a small country. What would it take? According to Tracy Schario Johnson, “Historical roots and color may be critical factors in wine selection for the discerning oenophile. However, most American wine drinkers are seeking wine with ambiance and drinkability. Malbec should be fresh, lush and vivacious, with currant and cherry fruits. Not old, stodgy or black.”
There are various styles of wines in Cahors, which makes the region so challenging and interesting. Cahors Malbecs can be “fresh, lush and vivacious”. More complex Cahors wines are a little more difficult to grasp because they have a long ageing potential and are not as inviting as their younger counterparts at first. But most Cahors Malbecs are easy to drink and food friendly. That’s why the Cahors producers are marketing their wines as the “other” Malbec, the French Malbec from its very birthplace: Cahors. “Ambiance and drinkability? Cahors Malbecs can be drunk during a picnic, a barbecue, at a friends’ dinner or a family meal. It pairs with steacks, pizza, cheese. It makes a smooth and nice before dinner drink or at a wine bar.
As Ms. Schario Johnson says, she’ll “try Cahors Malbec again should I see one at my neighbor wine cellar sometime in the future.”
After the NYC tasting and US Cahors Malbec Tour
Cahors producers first presented their wines in New York at the Astor Center on May 12, 2009. Elin McCoy, the famous Bloomberg journalist, conducted a tasting of several Cahors wines and wrote a very informed article on Cahors wines. Bloggers also wrote articles on this event. Marisa D’Vari wrote a very informative article on the tasting in her blog. In her conclusion, she recommends various wine and food pairings with the different styles of Cahors wines: “Though you will find sophisticated Cahors with subtle complexities, to me an everyday Cahors is the kind of wine that confidently announces itself with a joyful shout, not a subdued whisper. So look out for
Cahors the next time you go to your local wine shop. It may be just the thing for steak grilled on your summer barbeque.” At the same time, Twitter buzzed with mentions of the tasting.
Next move in the USA for Cahors this week: Over 25 Cahors producers presented their wines in Boston, Chicago and
Washington DC. American wine professionals and press gathered to those tastings and presentation. Mentions in blogs and on
Twitter attested the success of the Tour. Mimi from FrenchKitchen shares her feelings about this “sad and lovely time of the year” and remembers her days in Montcuq near Cahors. Alain, author of the French Virtual Cafe blog, comments on her article on the “aromatic dark beauty” of the Cahors wines: “How well I can appreciate your feelings, Mimi, since it is always at
the time of “la rentrée” that I have those depressing bouts of nostalgia of lovely and exciting autumns in Paris. But in a couple
of weeks I will be there (in Paris) myself for the first time in more than 2 years and I will raise my glass to wish a happy fall season to you and your husband. I thought of both of you Yesterday while attending a professional wine tasting of Cahors wines where 28 independent wine growers of that area were introducing their marvelous Malbec (blended sometimes with a bit of Merlot or Tannat)to the Chicago importers, distributors, restaurant owners, and journalists. I could see the hills of that beautiful Lot Valley in those glasses full of that aromatic dark beauty.”
Wine professionals twitted about the tastings of Cahors wines in Boston and Chicago: they enjoyed the wines and all commented how sorry they were to see how difficult it was to get Cahors wine sin the US. We can opnly support their plea for a much better distribution of Cahors wines in every US State.
Cahors French Malbec imports rising in the US
The First US Cahors French Malbec Tour started today in Boston.
Cahors has produced the Malbec of Kings, Popes and Czars, and is now coming back into the spotlight with much success. All the wines produced in the appellation must be made with 70-100% malbec. They are available in a variety of styles, and always offer a great value at different pricing levels.
It is a good time for those fine producers to present their wines to the trade and the press in three major cities: Boston, Chicago,
Washington DC. Indeed the latest figures show an increase of interest in Cahors Malbec wines in North America: Canada and the USA. The Cahors imports increased in value and in volume in 2008, which is good news.
Elin McCoy Leads Manhattan Cahors Tasting
Cahors Malbecs at Vinexpo by Dave McIntyre
Cahors had a beautiful booth in Vinexpo, next to the Wines of Argentine one. Small but striking, the Cahors booth attracted the attention of many wine professionals who stopped by to take pictures, talk to Jeremy Arnaud, the Marketing Dircetor or Laurent Marre, a Cahors sommelier as well as taste many of the wines.
Dave McIntyre was one of them. Wine and food writer, wine columnist for the Wasthington Post, Dave tasted the range of Cahors Malbecs under the learned guidance of Laurent Marre: “These were arranged from fruity and accessible to more tannic,
expressive and expensive. Yet there was an impressive continuity of style and flavors, as one would expect from a wine region that has found its voice. These are large, tannic wines for the most part, with impressive structure, lots of fruit, and minerally finish.”
His winners? Château Lamartine, Mas de Périé (organic), Le Cèdre (organic), Château La Reyne.
Thanks to Dave for such a wide tasting and his appreciation.
