![]() The popular style of reasonably priced fresh and fruity wines mostly come from the vallée and coteaux. Producers base terroir on geology, depth of soil, site altitude, proximity to the Lot river, and slope on the terrain.įor simplicity, producers group vineyards into three key categories: The vallée, the coteaux, and the limestone plateau. The Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Pyrenees mountain range frame the French Malbec vineyards. In the winery, this takes the form of longer maturation and better-quality French oak. The shift to quality started with improved viticultural practices. The new AOC, combined with understandable envy of the success of Malbec in Argentina, invigorated producers to put a new emphasis on quality. In 1971 Cahors achieved its Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) designation. Then came a series of catastrophes (wars, pests, frost) and market changes that catapulted French Malbec to a neglected area of the world’s wine stage. Wines of Cahors became exported to palaces in Russia and throughout Europe. Drawn to this new gastronomic mecca, visitors also received their first taste of French Malbec wine.Ĭahors Wine and delicious cusine. The high-end financial activity set the tone for chefs to establish gourmet restaurants. Sophisticated people, many of them financiers, flooded to this town from all over Europe. Much like the way former First Lady Nancy Reagan’s love of Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay popularized that wine.īecause of its strategic location in France and proximity to the Lot River, Cahors became a key financial center in the 13 th century. Positive word-of-mouth soon saw French Malbec become a fashion. Wedding guests loved the inky black color and savory flavor of French Malbec. Wedding wine of French Malbec started a trend. Little known in America, Cahors has an extensive political, cultural, and financial history outside of wine.įrench Malbec quickly became fashionable in 1152, when servers poured it at the wedding of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry of Anjou. ![]() Producers export about a third of the 20 million bottles produced. My French Malbec discovery dates back to 2014, when I took part in the program focused on exploring the rich history of this classic Old World region and its wine (This article discusses it in more depth).Ĭahors is a small town in southwestern France, located 100 miles east of Bordeaux. Impressed by the dark color and intense tannins of the resulting Malbec wine, they referred to it as the “Black Wine of Cahors.” Roman soldiers planted vineyards as they built roads in what we now know as Southwest France. French Malbec wine can trace its origins back to the days of the Roman Empire.
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