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Cahors with its Malbec (or Cot or Auxerrois) based wines remains one of my personal favourites – and these wines seem to improve year on year. This may be due to competition from South America, especially Argentina, where more overtly fruity and accessible Malbec wines are produced. However for me they lack the depth and intensity which good Cahors can offer. It’s also worth remembering that much of the Cahors vineyard is effectively less than 50 years old – the whole area was devastated by severe frost in 1956 which killed off most of the vines. Much changes in a vineyard in 50 years – vines mature, techniques improve, the best locations are revealed – and as exports increase winemakes have an incentive to strive to produce ever better wines.

You can try for yourself at the Fete du Vin de Cahors (Cahors Wine Festival) to be held at Puy l’Eveque (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) on 9 August 2008 – about 20 miles west of Cahors town on the river Lot. This opens in the Salle des Fetes at 5pm (i.e. after the worst of the heat of the day) and offers visitors the chance to taste the wines of local independent winemakers, but a few bottles (or more) all accompanied by music and a banquet!

Regular readers will be aware the the Lot Valley in the South West of France features frequently in these pages - in many ways the essence of “deepest France”, it is less crowded than the Dordogne to the north and yet offers a wide variety of landscapes, pretty villages, great cuisine - and is home to the often under-rated Malbec-based wines of Cahors. Hence an essential recent purchase has been the revised edition of Helen Martin’s Book Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France, which is packed with insights, history and information on the Lot département (46) as part of the River’s journey from the Massif Central to its meeting with the Garonne near Aiguillon (47 Lot-et-Garonne, Aquitaine).

Helen has kindly allowed us to print an extract of the section on Cahors and its wines…….
Lot: Travels Through a Limestone Landscape in SouthWest France

Chapter 8 The Lot Valley: West of Cahors
Below Cahors, the valley of the Lot belongs to the vignerons and the vineyards of the black wine of Cahors, châteaux-country in fact, but in times gone by it also belonged to the bishops of Cahors, who worked and played but mostly – in that great Christian tradition – fought along its banks.
Downstream of Luzech, the really wild cliffs you see to the east of Cahors become a thing of the past, replaced by gentler, graceful slopes, albeit with a certain grandeur to them, that, even though they may end in cliffs, are less formidable and are called cévennes. The river idles its way through the countryside in deep loops, or cingles, and was used as a major artery for transporting goods from the thirteenth century.
Along its banks grow the vines, and it was mostly the wine from these vineyards which used to be sailed downstream to the Garonne and Bordeaux and from thence to the world. The wine of Cahors may have had its ups and down in more recent times, but the Romans were making wine here in the third century and it had something of a reputation even then, so this river trade is very ancient. Finally, though, and in spite of the efforts of competitive Bordeaux wine-makers, it was phylloxera which put paid to the wine, and thus the trade, in the 1880s. By the time it had revived again, there were better means of transport. But even when the river was at the height of its usefulness, transportation was not always guaranteed. You would be surprised to know how many times the Lot froze right over in winter; the end of the eighteenth century was a particularly critical time – in 1766 it was frozen solid for two and a half months.
In the early nineteenth century, on a river much improved with the passage of time by locks and aids to navigation, 300,000 tonnes of freight was carried down it each year, including an astonishing 90 million bottles of wine – three times the number produced today. However, just as it was phylloxera that killed the river’s wine trade, so it was the coming of the railway that killed the river as a serious form of transport. In more recent years, though, it is coming to life again as leisure craft ply their way up and down, no doubt bringing new problems of pollution.
The villages along this western stretch of the river, unsurprisingly enough, are notable for their wine-producers’ houses – usually big and square with bolets or pigeonniers and sometimes both. You will notice, also, the use of decorative brickwork, the bricks being produced along the valley. Read more on this…

Albas (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) holds its annual Fete du Vin de Cahors on Saturday 3 May 2008 - situated in the heart of the Cahors vineyard to the west of Cahors, the day goes under the banner of “open our cellars to the fresh air!” - another celebration of the arrival of Spring and the start of the growth of the vine for another vintage.

The day includes open tastings, music, a banquet and other attractions such as a barrel-maker (tonnelier) - and amongst the wines will be Impernal, Prieuré de Cénac, Château d’Anglars, Château Beauvillain-Monpezat, Château Carrigou, Château Eugénie, Château Leret-Monpezat, Clos Triguedina and Domaine la Borie.

If you can tear yourself away from the festivities in the town, it is worth taking a trip to the “Point-de-Vue” on the hill above the village for a spectacular view of the river Lot and its vineyards. Take the D37 south west from th village and follow the signs.

The Observer (27 April 08) features a visit to Chateau Lagrezette in Cahors (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees), owned and restored by Alain Dominique Perrin, a controversial figure in the Cahors wine community, who was the key figure in Cartier’ luxury goods empire.

His vigorous approach to marketing and the production of high value wines has not always been popular with traditionalists in the area, who fear that whilst he may be promoting the name of Cahors, his wines tend to be too commercial and distant from the traditional character of the appellation. Certainly other winemakers are making extraordinarily good top quality wines, whilst still retaining distinctive Cahors character.There is also the inevitable local suspicion about a wealthy incomer in what has been one of the poorest départements in France.

Lunch in the farmhouse kitchen is nowhere near as terrifyingly chic as I’d feared. Instead, his son Clement, a 27-year-old musician, and his winery manager, Jean Courtois, sit with him at a long wooden table in front of an open fire and eat ratatouille made with vegetables from the kitchen garden, herbed chicken with braised endive, goats’ cheese from Rocamadour and an amazing tarte tatin, all prepared by housekeeper Nadia, while Perrin explains how he restored his vineyards.

Lagrézette’s vineyards are some of the oldest in France and there are references to them from the 1500s. But they were decimated in the last century by the vine disease phylloxera and then by flooding in the 1950s. At the request of the locals, who had seen and approved of Perrin’s work on the château, he set about bringing them back, ripping out the unimpressive hybrids that had replaced the original diseased Malbec plants, replacing them with new Malbecs on three-quarters of the estate and Merlot and Tannat grapes everywhere else. He brought in renowned wine expert Michel Rolland to help in 1989, but remained closely involved himself.

‘Monsieur Perrin,’ says Courtois, ‘is above all interested in… quality. Quality is the most important thing to him in all things.’

The château’s winery was built from scratch, although it incorporates some original pieces, like the enormous wooden door, which dates from before the French Revolution, and a large stone fountain picked up in Toulouse. Having decided it should be built underground, Perrin had the hillside dug out, built the cellars and the workrooms, and then replaced the soil on top, no small feat considering the winery is 55m long and 19m deep. Now all that is visible from outside is the winery’s beautiful fascia. The final touch was a 150m tunnel connecting the winery with the château.

At the end of the tunnel you find yourself in a tasting room, formerly one of the château’s cells. ‘This is where Monsieur Rolland comes to blind-taste each vintage,’ explains Courtois. ‘It is also haunted, like most of the castle.’ In the course of the restoration, Perrin made a macabre discovery: the ruins of an oubliette, a dungeon that opened only from the top, into which people were thrown, literally to be forgotten. It contained human and animal bones that Perrin had analysed. ‘The theory is that it was probably closed up in the 18th century, and erased from the records because it was a source of such shame.’ Perrin claims that the circular bedroom at the top of the south tower, where his friends Tina Turner, Elton John, Richard Gere, Cindy Crawford and Tony Blair stay when they drop in for a weekend, is also subject to visitations from former inhabitants.

The Chateau has a nicely designed and informative website and blog - see www.chateau-lagrezette.tm.fr

Whilst the wines of Lagrezette are undoubtedly of high quality, personally I would prefer the wines of Chateau du Cedre or Chateau Eugenie.

Chateau Lagrezette Cahors AC is available from www.bertrandandnicholaswines.co.uk amongst others.

See our customised Google Map of the Lot and Cahors

A surprising concoction from a respected Madiran producer, which challenges the perception of the rich tannic Tannat grape from southwest France. It almost sounds a contradiction in terms, and another of those rather dubious French inventions which I have always suspected were just a way to re-invent unwanted left-over grape juice!
The Birmingham Post (3 April 2008) featured Maydie Tannat

Mention sweet red wine and a lot of people would be fetching their coats, but fortified vins de liqueur, made in a similar way to port, are very popular in France.

And although Maydie may sound a bit ominous translated into English, it certainly has a more than lively personality.

It’s produced by the Laplace family from Tannat grapes at Château d’Aydie in the Madiran region in the south-west of France.

Leave this fascinating wine in a glass for a few moments and the powerful scents begin to waft around the room: blackberry, licorice, menthol, elderberry.

It’s thick, densely dark purple and you might expect a correspondingly muscular flavour, so that the sweetness comes almost as a surprise - damsons and baked plum crumble disarmingly balancing the obvious sturdy tannin structure and high alcohol (17 per cent).

The thick-skinned Tannat grapes are also high in polyphenols, powerful antioxidants which are claimed to be good for your heart.

Maydie is available from The Wine Society for £10.95 per 50cl bottle (see www.thewinesociety.com). A similar idea based on the Malbec grape in Cahors is made by Chateau de Chambert called Rogomme, available from HG Wines in London.

For more info on Chateau d’Aydie and Madiran wines see www.frenchduck.com

One of Cahors’ top wine chateaux is the Chateau de Mercuès, which is also a top class Michelin restaurant and hotel - the barrel-ageing cellar is under the hotel and is sometimes used for functions - such as a wedding breakfast of bread and Cahors wine!!
Owned by one of the top Cahors wine families - Georges Vigouroux, the wines are consistently amongst the best Cahors wines.
Situated on a promontory to the west of Cahors (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) at Mercuès, it offers stunning views over the Lot Valley. see www.relaischateaux.com
More on Chateau de Mercuès and Cahors

Wine from Cahors the first thing I tend to associate with the Lot département in South West France (Midi-Pyrenees), but is has so much more to offer and discover. For example there are numerous interesting gardens - and whilst they may lack the grandeur of gardens further north, they are arguably more interesting and diverse. For example:-
Medieval Garden (Jardin Médiéval) at Cardaillac north of Figeac
Garden of the Senses at Castelfranc in the rue des Jardiniers (Gardeners Road) - between Puy l’Eveque and Cahors on the northern bank of the Lot River - formerly an allotment now transformed into a peaceful haven of colour and scents
Labyrinth of Roses (Labyrinthe des Roses) at the Chateau de Saint-Dau in Figeac - over a 1000 climbing roses (50 varietals) constructed by an Australian to create a sort of rose maze
The Secret Gardens (Jardins Secret) in Cahors (see www.mairie-cahors.fr) a series of themed gardens and displays throughout the town.

A missive from Cahors (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) arrived this morning, responding to Robert Parker’s assetion that “Malbec will make it big!”. Certainly Argentinian Malbecs are rising fast, especially in the US, where interestingly Argentina has overtaken Chile as the 4th biggest exporter (after France, Italy and Australia).
Argentina still has some ground to make up in the UK, but their signature grape is the Malbec - which they can make in a very upfront, fruity, smooth style. However, it is Cahors which claims to be the real home of the Malbec grape (known locally as Auxerrois or Cot) - and that is probably a surprise to many visitors to the region - again the French labelling does not help. The French Malbecs tend to be more complex, and less sweet, but to my mind ultimately more rewarding.
Georges Vigouroux, a major name in Cahors, has been successfully marketing a 100% Malbec “Pigmentum” so named for the great depth of inky colour which is a trademark of good Cahors - and great value at £5.50/bottle (from Advintage wines)

Of course, the cause of Cahors and other Southwest France wines has also been promoted by Roger Corder’s recent research and book The Wine Diet where, at Queen Mary’s School of Medicine in London, he demonstrated that South West red wines are particularly effective in protecting you from cardiovascular diseases (in moderation of course!). He also notes that people in South West live longer than elsewhere in France!! Hence the so-called “French Paradox” may be more specifically a French South West Paradox - i.e. the incidence of coronary heart disease is relatively low despite a diet which is relatively high in saturated fats.
Others factors may be the predominance of duck and goose fat in the diet - as these fats are the healthiest of animal fats because they have less saturated fat than say, butter or bacon fat and far more of the health-promoting mono- and polyunsaturated fats. You can buy a range of goose and duck products from the

Although parts of the region are quite poor economically, the combination of great wines, rich food, a benign climate and a relaxed lifestyle all sound pretty healthy to me!
Cahors T-shirt available from www.jumboTs.co.uk

It can be difficult to decide what to do on holiday especially when there’s more than 2 of you - different interests can cause a touch of friction. But in Cahors (46 Lot, Midi-Pyrenees) there is a multiple-interest tour which will help you discover the best of the town and the surrounding area.

In town there is a series of “Secret” Gardens, 29 in total, waymarked throughout the town, including an arab garden, a lavender garden, an apple tree garden, a garden of spices, a monastery garden etc. Furthermore, through these gardens you will also discover the history and architecture of this fine medieval town, set in the loop of the Lot river, with its iconic Pont Valentre (fortified bridge).
For more info on the Jardins Secret trail see www.mairie-cahors.fr
The first (or last) of the gardens on the “Secret Garden” trail is the Jardin de l’Ivresse - the Garden of Intoxication beside the Pont Valentre. The Lot River’s sinuous path (mainly downstream from the town) is a prime reason for the quality of the local Cahors wines. With many fine chateaux (mainly south of the river) the area is a delight to travel through - even more so if you want to combine wine, castles and gardens. Although the distances involved are not walkable (unless you are really keen, the route “Vignoble Jardin Cahors” (Vineyard Gardens of Cahors) is a great way to see the wine region. As the publicity rightly states: “behind every great vineyard is a garden” - certainly borne out by many of the vineyards I have visited.
There is a leaflet (available from the tourist office in Cahors and at participating vineyards) which will show you the route. With this you can discover some great gardens, splendid vistas, pretty villages, vineyards and chateaux - and taste and learn something of the history and character of the landscape and its wines. (see http://effeuillage.cahors.free.fr)
Amongst the vineyards featured are Chateau Eugenie (try their Reserve de l’Aieul); Chateau de Chambert (an impressive position); Chateau Latuc and Chateau de Mercues - for more info on Cahors wines and these chateaux see www.frenchduck.co.uk

The wines of Cahors (Lot Valley, South West France)
CAHORS has been a favourite of ours since the beginning of our interest in wine. The Lot, south of the more crowded Dordogne, is both dramatic and scenic - and the vineyards are very evident - along the valley west of the attractive town of Cahors and on the hillsides (causses) north and south of the river.
Its wines are very distinctive - quite different from Bordeaux or the Languedoc. Only red wine, it is traditionally tannic and plummy - probably better with food than by itself. However, recent vintages are succeeding in retaining depth of flavour with some wonderfully smooth attractive tannins. resulting in a wonderfully smooth big mouthful of wine, drinkable young but with good ageing potential.

A little history….The wine of Cahors is justly proud of its ancient lineage and renown. It was already spoken of during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian in the year 96AD.
The local poet Clement Marot often celebrated its qualities and the Bishop of Verdun, Saint Paul, wrote to Saint Didier, Bishop of Cahors (639-662), to thank him for the wine sent to him. Francis I graced his table with Cahors wine, and even planted a Cahors vine in the grounds of his chateau of Fontainebleau. It is only a few years ago that the last vine was pulled out of what was once known as the “King’s Vines”.
The Russian Orthodox church adopted it as its Communion Wine and the Tsar Peter the Great used to treat his very delicate stomach with Cahors wine. Indeed, if you visit Chateau Eugenie at Albas, you will see some old bottles on display with the name CAHORS in the Russian script.

2007 is going to be a great year for Cahors, as it sees the 700th Anniversary of the medieval fortified bridge (Pont Valentré) whichis one of its main attractions.
On a more mundane, but practical note, there is a new free Park-and-Ride service (Navette) from the south side of the river (Chartreux) to the town centre, which should ease some of the parking difficulties in the town.
And Cahors is now recognised as “une Ville d’Art et d’Historie” by the French Government, one of 130 sites across France recognised for the importance and quality of their heritage. The town is also active in protecting and restoring much of this heritage, by restricting traffic and encouraging restoration without turning the place into a theme park. As with so many towns like this, although the obvious attractions of the main boulevard, market, Catherdral and the river
are delightful, a bit of exploration on foot will yield some of the more interesting gems and snickleways in the heart of the medieval town.
Read more on this…