Good article on Cahors by Andrew Jefford

IMO Andrew Jefford is one of the most thoughtful wine writers in the UK; perhaps anywhere where I can read the language. He contributes weekly articles in the Financial Times when Jancis Robinson is one holiday as now. Here are his comments on Cahors http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b5a10ebc ... z1WEYWBRuB . I don't agree with everything but there is a lot of interesting information including on the aptitude of the wines for ageing, which some people doubt.

It is interesting to note that he considers Pascal Verhaeghe's Château du Cèdre as a quality leader in Cahors which would not please Paul Strang, writer on the wines of the French South West, who considers them too oaky.. I'm with Jefford on this because I find the wood tactfully handled by Verhaeghe and well integrated, though probably not for the likes of Otto.

On the other hand he also speaks well of Alain Dominique Perrin's Château Lagrézette whose estate has been stripped of its stars in the 2012 dedition of RVF's Les Meilleurs Vins de France on the grounds of heavy oaking which blunts the wines' Cahors character. I'm with RVF on this. (This guide has also demoted Château d'Ampuis and Guigal's famous LaLa's on similar grounds; not before time IMHO .)

Thanks for this Tim, will read later. Are you going to post link to all those UK Cahor-oholics on the other place?

two years ago cahors sent a delegation of producers on a tasting tour of the US. It was a really educational experience. fortunatly they are coming back - SF, Chicago and NYC at the end of Sept. I can't find the exact dates for each city yet, however. am looking forward to going again.

IMO Andrew Jefford is one of the most thoughtful wine writers in the UK; perhaps anywhere where I can read the language. He contributes weekly articles in the Financial Times when Jancis Robinson is one holiday as now. Here are his comments on Cahors http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/b5a10ebc ... z1WEYWBRuB . I don't agree with everything but there is a lot of interesting information including on the aptitude of the wines for ageing, which some people doubt.

It is interesting to note that he considers Pascal Verhaeghe's Château du Cèdre as a quality leader in Cahors which would not please Paul Strang, writer on the wines of the French South West, who considers them too oaky.. I'm with Jefford on this because I find the wood tactfully handled by Verhaeghe and well integrated, though probably not for the likes of Otto.

On the other hand he also speaks well of Alain Dominique Perrin's Château Lagrézette whose estate has been stripped of its stars in the 2012 dedition of RVF's Les Meilleurs Vins de France on the grounds of heavy oaking which blunts the wines' Cahors character. I'm with RVF on this. (This guide has also demoted Château d'Ampuis and Guigal's famous LaLa's on similar grounds; not before time IMHO .)

Thanks for this.

Jeffords mentions Perrin but says nothing about his wines - I'm with you and RVF. Lagrézette's "Le Pigeonnier" is one of the most egregiously anti-terroir wines I have ever had.

As for Cèdre, older vintages have shown beautifully, and while I've found recent vintages (too) oaky, they do show a remarkable mineral streak that is undeniably Cahors terroir. I'm agnostic about their development.

My personal favorite are the wines of the Jouffreau family -- Clos de Gamot, Chateau Cayrou, and Clos St. Jean. Jeffords only mentions them in passing.

Thanks for this.

Jeffords mentions Perrin but says nothing about his wines - I'm with you and RVF. Lagrézette's "Le Pigeonnier" is one of the most egregiously anti-terroir wines I have ever had.

As for Cèdre, older vintages have shown beautifully, and while I've found recent vintages (too) oaky, they do show a remarkable mineral streak that is undeniably Cahors terroir. I'm agnostic about their development.

My personal favorite are the wines of the Jouffreau family -- Clos de Gamot, Chateau Cayrou, and Clos St. Jean. Jeffords only mentions them in passing.

Agreed. When I read "...Perrin’s commercial dynamism (which includes a retail outlet close to Cahors’ celebrated 14th-century Pont Valentré) hasn’t always been popular locally..." all I could think was "There's some understatement for you."

Also puzzled by the omission of Georges Vigouroux, who deserves credit for getting the Cahors appellation rolling back in '71. His Chateau Haute Serre has been an excellent and dependable source for decades now.

It was made pretty clear when I was in Cahors last year (Jeffords was working on the event) that the AOC and the community have bought into the triple market approach of having three different directions for Cahors---the low priced grocery items made fairly simple and straightforward, leaning on some softer Malbec and Merlot iterations; the traditional and ancient style of monolithic, dark and long-aging before drinkability wines; and the outright cult new world Rollandized/Parkerized style with phenolic over-ripeness, jam galore and heavy sweet oak.

Pretty smart, if you ask me; if not inevitable considering today's market global market. And from what I saw, there's good wine in every price segment/style. Admittedly, I had to look harder to find my definition of "good" in the cult of ego wines, but that's individual taste. I do feel there is more available for a wider range of tastes than ever before in Cahors, and that will continue to improve.

I'm all for tradition, but that can also be twisted into an artificial reactionary conservatism that locks a region into something that the market doesn't respond to. And that benefits no one. Wine, to be appreciated, has to be consumed. And to be consumed, it must be purchased, so the producer can keep on producing and the consumer can keep on consuming. If one of those incentives is taken away because someone forces adherence to only what-used-to-be, then in the end the vines get ripped out and a "useful" crop is put there instead.

Okay, now I'll get off my rickety soapbox.

Hoke
Although only one of those styles holds much interest for me (the trad cellar-worthy style - the only one with a sense of uniqueness), I don't begrudge them leaving all commercial openings available. Wher I think they've missed a trick though, is in not giving the customer a clear view of which style is which. The style differences do seem clear cut and hence there is every reason to share this info with the customer.

Cahors Traditionelle?
Cahors *Prestige?
Cahors Doux?

regards
Ian

*Though on another forum the term "Car-Whores" was cheekily suggested

Cahors *Prestige?

*Though on another forum the term "Car-Whores" was cheekily suggested

????

What does that have to do with prestige or with Cahors. Are these producers obsessed with their automobiles?

The style differences do seem clear cut and hence there is every reason to share this info with the customer.

I'd agree with you there, for sure.

In their defense, the grocery store style. ("Cahors Pret-a-Porter?") is pretty well defined by the price points. And that's how they were presented to us in the grand tasting at the Journee, with every one below, if not well below, the $10 price point.

The other two, though, you're correct: no way of distinguishing without knowing the players. It would be great to have a 'Cahors Traditionelle' designation, or something like it, to tell the ones who are in that style. (Or maybe a vinous version of the Michelin Man on a side seal to denote the large egos of the cultist versions???? )

And don't be so hasty to totally dismiss the last category, as pumped up as many of them are: the single most appealing Cahors I had during my sojourn there last year (and it still reverberates in what little memory I have left) was the "Un Jour", a Cahors made and aged in terracotta amphorae. It was a remarkably good wine, with the resonance and solidity of classic Cahors but also with a taut, nervy, charming mineral/acidity twang.

[James Roscoe]

How large were the clay jars and how were they made? That is interesting. I assume they were machine made as hand made amphora or jars of any industrial size are almost impossible to make.

Cahors *Prestige?

*Though on another forum the term "Car-Whores" was cheekily suggested

????

What does that have to do with prestige or with Cahors. Are these producers obsessed with their automobiles?

It extended on from the more obvious 'Ca-Whores' to a 'hummer' reference (i.e. biggest and brashest is best).

How large were the clay jars and how were they made? That is interesting. I assume they were machine made as hand made amphora or jars of any industrial size are almost impossible to make.

Don't know, as I just drank the wine during a tasting,but didn't get a chance to visit the winery, James. They were described to me as roughly five feet tall though, and handmade locally by some artisans/potters/glaziers that work in clay. I suspect they were made generally to the design of the old Roman amphorae, as the intent was to replicate wine made the old way with oxidative-without-oak maturation. The clay had to be of a certain thickness, but wasn't fired so as not to 'seal up' the porosity of the material.

Hoke
Although only one of those styles holds much interest for me (the trad cellar-worthy style - the only one with a sense of uniqueness), I don't begrudge them leaving all commercial openings available. Wher I think they've missed a trick though, is in not giving the customer a clear view of which style is which. The style differences do seem clear cut and hence there is every reason to share this info with the customer.

Cahors Traditionelle?
Cahors *Prestige?
Cahors Doux?

regards
Ian

*Though on another forum the term "Car-Whores" was cheekily suggested

We would have to be careful with a Cahors Cuvée Traditionelle designation because it might be confused with "Black Wine" descibed by Jefford like this -

"Even so, the quality of Cahors’ structured “black wines” (made from heated, reduced grape juice and sometimes oven-baked grapes) continued to win foreign admirers in Russia and elsewhere; prior to the phylloxera crisis, there were almost 48,000 hectares planted here."

AKAIK the only wine being produced like this nowadays is "New Black Wine" from Triguedina. This has its admirers who do not include me.

I think I know what you mean, Ian. It's the solid ageworthy wines not subject to new oak like Clos Gamot. But there are others who use new oak deftly like Cèdre and Lamartine in Expression and manage to keep the Cahors character IMO.

As to the entry level wines, I would not call them "doux" and as Hoke says they are defined by their price. Some are very good with Cahors character, e.g. Haut-Monplaisir's basic cuvée called "Tradition" (c.€6) and Croze de Pys (c.€5) whose 2009 is a regular tipple of mine at present.

We would have to be careful with a Cahors Cuvée Traditionelle designation because it might be confused with "Black Wine" descibed by Jefford like this -

"Even so, the quality of Cahors’ structured “black wines” (made from heated, reduced grape juice and sometimes oven-baked grapes) continued to win foreign admirers in Russia and elsewhere; prior to the phylloxera crisis, there were almost 48,000 hectares planted here."

True, though perhaps that shoul go by the name of 'Black Wine' or 'Ancestrale'

Coming back to the 'Black Wine' thing, I've often thought of Cahors as a black wine, not in the literal sense, but an austere dark and almost savoury fruited wine. I've yet to try Saperavi, but it too sounds like it has that same dark austerity. Wine for Goths?

Wine for Goths?

I'm picturing you with black lipstick, black eyeliner and various pierced body parts as you enjoy your Goth Cahors.

I'm sure piercing involves pain, which I'd not willingly inflict on myself!

Thanks.

I enjoy Cahors wines and have visited the area. Many modest but tasty wines exist under the cap of producers that get any international attention. Hope they stay relatively affordable!

And don't be so hasty to totally dismiss the last category, as pumped up as many of them are: the single most appealing Cahors I had during my sojourn there last year (and it still reverberates in what little memory I have left) was the "Un Jour", a Cahors made and aged in terracotta amphorae. It was a remarkably good wine, with the resonance and solidity of classic Cahors but also with a taut, nervy, charming mineral/acidity twang.

I've had one vintage (2005) of the Clos d'un Jour "Un Jour sur Terre," the amphora-raised Cahors. I believe it was offered through Garagiste, though I got mine via winebid. It was certainly interesting, a massively dense and tannic black wine but with a soft, almost downy affect, and though its proportions were much larger than the usual Cahors it certainly bore the hallmarks of Cahors wine -- mineral, floral, etc. The fruit was buried under all that material and it seemed to need a long time before it would show its best.

And don't be so hasty to totally dismiss the last category, as pumped up as many of them are: the single most appealing Cahors I had during my sojourn there last year (and it still reverberates in what little memory I have left) was the "Un Jour", a Cahors made and aged in terracotta amphorae. It was a remarkably good wine, with the resonance and solidity of classic Cahors but also with a taut, nervy, charming mineral/acidity twang.

I've had one vintage (2005) of the Clos d'un Jour "Un Jour sur Terre," the amphora-raised Cahors. I believe it was offered through Garagiste, though I got mine via winebid. It was certainly interesting, a massively dense and tannic black wine but with a soft, almost downy affect, and though its proportions were much larger than the usual Cahors it certainly bore the hallmarks of Cahors wine -- mineral, floral, etc. The fruit was buried under all that material and it seemed to need a long time before it would show its best.

Mine was younger, and still had that nervy touch to it---or it might have been reflective of the vintage, I don't know. It was an expansive wine, for sure. I didn't feel the fruit was buried though, as it felt...uh, impregnated in the solidity of the wine, if that makes any sense. It would be interesting to track such a wine's aging curve...which is happening now, of course. I suspect it will be a long lived creature as a rule (probably longer lived than I expect to be) and will develop quite nicely. It certainly was an intriguing wine, in every respect.