Cahors

Centered around the small provincial capital of Cahors, the French départment Lot is Malbec’s place of birth. Over the past years the stars have aligned unfavorably for the appellation of Cahors, which is an undeserved tragedy that overshadows the hard work the vintners have done to catch up with the times. Alongside traditional full-bodied wines there is a roster of organically or biodynamically working wineries that craft bright, refined and modern wines while taking advantage of a big stock of old vines. The days that Cahors wines were wannabe Bordeauxs are over.

‘As a rule of thumb,’ says Armand de Gérard, the director of the Union Interprofessionelle du Vin de Cahors that had invited me for a three day deep-dive into this fascinating appellation, ‘we used to have a bad vintage every four years. But now it’s closer to once every two years. Especially spring frost has become an issue. As a consequence of climate change, we have milder winters and hence the vines start their annual growing cycle earlier, making them more vulnerable to spring frost. Some wineries have lost 90 percent of their crop this year [2024]. There was spring frost in 2017, 2021 and, to a lesser extent, in 2019 too.’

Challenges
The region, climatically located at the intersection of maritime (Atlantic), Mediterranean and mountain (Massif Central) influences, receives a fair amount of rain that increases the risk of fungal disease, but which can also affect flowering, especially in varieties that are sensitive to it like Malbec.

The vintners are unanimously proud of their native variety Malbec, but the appellation struggled to reap the fruits of its popularity in Argentina. Common wisdom was that Cahors’s wines used to be a bit leafier and not as seductive, polished and fruit-forward as their Argentine siblings. To exacerbate the problem, (Argentine) Malbec has lost its luster, which, contradictory as it may sound, also complicates the sale of Cahors wines.

Add to this geopolitical issues, impending import taxes in the USA, decreasing wine consumption, especially of red wines, and Cahors’s future, as a hundred percent red wine appellation, looks rather bleak. This is all the more stinging because the appellation worked diligently on its turn-around, and the results should have started to pay off by now.

With at least forty thousand hectares, Cahors used to be the largest wine region of southwestern France. But phylloxera destroyed all but the last few dozens of hectares, and due to the First World War and the consecutive economic depression it took until the 1950s before Cahors started reemerging. The focus was on quantity. Vineyards returned, generally on deeper, more fertile soils in the valley of the Lot river, and closer to the villages, rather than on the Kimmeridgian limestone plateau, the so-called causse.

The eighties and nineties were, also in Cahors, the years of Robert Parker. The wines were typically crafted in the Bordeaux mold – heavily extracted, tannic, dark, and aged in predominantly new, often intensely toasted oak barrels. This style, the stereotypical Black Wine of Cahors, often very well made – try Triguedina’s smooth, rich and dark-fruited Probus – still exists, but to think of Cahors as just big and bold is a misconception.

Innovators on the causse
Things have changed since approximately 2010 with the first wave of innovators who rediscovered the prized Kimmeridgian limestone soils on the plateau, north and particularly south of the meandering Lot river that bisects the appellation from east to west. Wineries like Château les Croisille, Domaine La Calmette, Clos Troteligotte, Mas del Périé/Fabien Jouves, Chateau de Chambert and Combel-la-Serre used the limestone soils, which are geologically identical to those in Chablis and Sancerre, to make acidity the wine’s most important structural feature and tamed the tannins with soft extraction. Another advantage of the plateau is that due to its higher location it is less prone to spring frost.

Maya Sallée of La Calmette says over dinner at restaurant L’Ô à la Bouche: “For me the acidity defines the structure of a wine. I am not very good at tasting tannins, I leave that to my partner [Nicolas Fernandez].” Balance in the relationship, balance in the wine. Their cherry- and violet-scented, racy, elegant Trespotz, also the Occitan name of their village, reminded me of Blaufränkisch.

For outsiders like Sallée and Fernandez – Sallée grew up in Mexico and Fernandez hails from Spain – Cahors is also attractive because the land prices are still low.

Linear white and terroir-driven red wines
The next day I have dinner with Germain Croisille. Just like Sallée the day before, he has brought a white wine to demonstrate that, although Cahors may be a red wine appellation, the region is perfectly suited for white wines too. Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Noual (a local variety) are the main varieties. While Sallée’s wine is a field blend, Croisille’s, having a weak spot for Sancerre, is a Sauvignon Blanc. Both wines are proof of Sallée’s and Croisille’s claims: fabulous linearity, high drinkability, thought-provoking complexity. White wines may not be sold under the Cahors appellation, but labeled as IGP Côtes du Lot they are a great addition that could help local vintners to deal with declining appetite for red wines.

The causse largely consists of three soil types: limestone, red (iron containing) clay, called sidérolitique, and brown clay-limestone. Most of the wineries based on the plateau try to express them in their wines. Château de Chambert’s line of three single vineyard wines is particularly strong. La Petite Maison 2015 from sidérolitique soils pairs condensed power with firm, shiny elegance, while the Le Puits 2010 from Kimmeridgian limestone displays typical verticality and tension wrapped in notes of pencil, blueberry and savory evolution.

Croisille’s trio of terroir Malbecs is equally fascinating and mouthwatering and includes one with Grenache-like grace from a sandy pocket on the plateau.

Fabien Jouves, arguably the best-known vintner from this batch, is a champion not only of Malbec, but also of other local, that is, southwestern French red varieties. From Jurançon Noir, Valdeguié and Gibert he crafts an ethereal somewhat Gamay-like wine full of red and dark berry fruit, a peppery note and some fresh herbs – bright, light (there is some Noual in it too) and moreish.

It raises the question whether the appellation should expand its list of permitted varieties. The cahier des charges of the appellation prescribes a minimum of 70 percent Malbec. The balance may consist of Tannat and Merlot. While Merlot could round out Malbec to a certain extent, neither variety really complements Malbec’s naturally dark and tannic character. In that sense the lesser known, typically light, local varieties seem a more logical choice, but there is so little planted, that few people really care to go through the convoluted, long administrative hassle of changing the rules.

Innovators on the terraces
Sixty percent of the appellation’s vineyards are located on the terraces that slope down to the river Lot. Going up from the banks of the river, there are four terraces from increasingly older geological eras. The higher you get, the poorer the soils, the higher the limestone content and the more desirable the vineyards. In the last few years there is a second wave of innovators cropping up that is rediscovering the complexity of the terrace terroir.

Clos La Coutale is one of them. Sébastien Bernède, the seventh-generation proprietor designate of the 100-hectare property, pours me a glass of a delightful micro-vinification of Malbec from a small parcel where the second and third terraces blend into each other and that he particularly prizes for its complex soils. He tells me he needs to balance his wish to make these experimental terroir-driven wines on a larger scale and the tradition of his family estate. A whopping 98 percent of the production exists of just one cuvée that is among the best wines to represent the region. It is big enough to give you an idea of how it used to be and elegant enough to show where the region is going. With a great accessibility (in terms of style, distribution and price) Bernède feels the weight of this heritage, not only towards previous generations, but also towards the appellation. La Coutale’s wine is an excellent ambassador for Cahors and an invitation to try other producers and terroirs.

Among this batch of second wave innovators is also Jules Verhaeghe who is slowly taking over the reins at Château du Cèdre. For his 27 years he is remarkably wise and visionary. He has a precise idea of where he wants to go with the winery but is curious enough to consider options and try out new things. He loves Malbec but likes to think of himself as a better white wine maker. He believes Sauvignon Blanc has a lot of potential in Cahors. His conviction is backed up by his chalky, floral, subtle Les Grèzes, a Sauvignon Blanc dominant blend. A méthode traditionelle sparkling Chardonnay is on his wish list. He makes a highly drinkable lo-fi wine without added sulphur (Extra Libre) but also an outstanding Malbec fermented and aged in new oak (his GC). He finds single vineyard wines an important way of expressing terroir (try his Charly from a fourth terrace plot) but stresses the importance of blending. Their flagship wine Le Cèdre is a fantastic Cahors that would convert any self-proclaimed Malbec skeptic. Despite the fact that he is trying out all these different styles, his wines are as precise and convincing as the way he speaks.

While we taste a barrel sample of Verhaeghe’s GC 2023, for instance, he explains in detail why working with 100 percent new oak can be perfectly fine as long as you have a trusted relationship with your cooper. Only then you get the best wood, from the best parts of old trees. Untoasted, of course. Even as a barely born baby, the GC was gorgeous.

My impression after three days of traipsing around Cahors was that of a dynamic appellation with many young talented winemakers who are working hard to overcome the numerous challenges the appellation faces. There are at least half a dozen initiatives that should help the appellation adapt to the current challenges. Château Gaudou experiments with Bourbonnais, a not yet permitted fungus-resistant cross of Malbec and Plantet that deals better with extreme temperatures and has less flowering issues, some wineries participate in the current French grub-up scheme (twenty percent of the total surface), some consider changing to another form of agriculture, some sell a part of their vineyards and start buying in grapes to become more flexible, and others champion less well-known local varieties (Fabien Jouves) or invest in new cellars, equipment and wine tourism, or try to build up stock or treasure it (Lamartine) so that they don’t need to turn down and possibly lose clients in years when the harvest is low.

Most importantly however, many wineries have shifted to lighter styles and more terroir driven wines. Their bright, expressive and diverse Malbecs are the hopeful beacons for a better future. It is now up to us, sommeliers, distributors, wine writers and consumers, to recognize Cahors’s accomplishments and discover its gorgeous wines.