I have still been buying wine in the UK, and again looking at more Malbecs.
This time I am trying a French one, again bought in Morrisons. If you recall from my first Malbec post “Malbec is a French purple grape variety used in making red wine, native from the town of Cahors in the south of France”. So when I saw a bottle labelled Cahors, I decided to give it a try. Most people now associate Malbec with Argentina, although the grape is originally from France. Maybe this be similar to the Sauvignon Blanc wines. These originated in France, but it is generally accepted that New Zealand now produce the better wines of this grape. Could the same said of Malbec where Argentina produce the better wine of this grape?
First thing I want to know is ‘Where is Cahors?
I think it is good to also learn a bit of the geography of countries when learning about grapes and the regions that they come from. As you can see, Cahors is quite South, just north of Toulouse and about 90 miles east of Bordeaux (and south a bit). But it is also good to look at the bottle and see precisely where the wine is from. This wine does have the Appellation Cahors Controlee marking, but the actual location is Saint-Sulpice-la-Pointe, which is south of Cahors, about halfway between Toulouse and Gailac on the map. I was curious to know how this compared to the Bordeaux. From previous tastings, I find Bordeaux overrated at the cheaper end and now do not buy from this region unless treating myself to a more expensive St Emilion.
I did this tasting when I was on my way down to France in April. Had a meal with Mary, and her neighbours Frederica (Fred), and Mark, so comments are from the four of us.
Cahors Malbec
- Cahors Malbec 2018
- Typically £8 at Morrisons, but bought on offer at £6
Aroma: Very nice, delicate and subtle
Taste: Very nice and smooth flavour with a rich elegance.
Me
Aroma: A fascinating aroma, rich and deep.
Taste: Full bodied, goes down easily, Very moorish and giving a lovely warmth.
Mary
Aroma: Incredibly promising.
Taste: Incredibly smooth, Very nice.
Mark
Aroma: Ditto to Mark (Incredibly promising.)
Taste: Super duper delicious
Fred
Review
This wine went down very well with all four of us. Again we were having a meal (very nice roast chicken and vegetables cooked by Mark, who is a great cook), so just got a general feedback on how they like the wine, which everyone clearly did. Even Fred who normally prefers white wines. And as I say on the ‘My journey into wine‘ page, fine to just to say that you like a wine. For a more descriptive review, there is a good one here at Decanter.com. This is a website that I will look at in more detail in future, they do good reviews. They also rate this wine and include it in their ‘The best Morrisons wines to try’ list. They describe it as “juicy, ripe berry fruits with a touch of inky tannin“, and “a pleasing red blend at £8 per bottle.” Also notice that it does have the silver Morrison’s ‘The Best’ sticker on the bottle.
This is a definitely a wine that I will buy again, especially when I see it on special offer at £6 a bottle. Good to know that we were all in agreement with more expert opinion from the Decanter website that this is a good buy. I think it is better than the Argentinian Mablecs that I reviewed earlier this year, with the exception of the gold foiled Vinabla Patagonia. This Cahors is about equal to that, but definitely better value for money.
And in future, I will also look up regions where wines come from. I started doing this when I looked at the Touraine wines. It is a good way to learn about regions and the geography of France, and grapes from those regions.
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