What makes CAHORS so SPECIAL?

The Cahors wine region is located in the lot Valley It is a compact area that is 60 kms long by 30 kms wide and comprising of 4250 acres with 45 villages. Cahors lies between the 44th and 45th Parallels, being equidistant (200 km) from the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees. This geographical position ensures that the vineyard is protected from both the Atlantic humidity and the Mediterranean downpours in the autumn thus resulting in a ripening of the crop without rain, through a sunny late summer. However the region is a land of extreme weather conditions. Summers can be very hot and dry, with winters that are cold and dry, and they can be very cold indeed. In February 1956 the big freeze was so bad and so long that all the vines were virtually wiped out. This resulted in the region being replanted with quality vines on virus-free rootstock. Hence the oldest vines in the region are now 60 years old.

The vineyards are situated on either the sheltered terraces of the Lot Valley with alluvial deposits along with gravel and chalky stone deposits; on the slopes, where it is mainly deposits of quartz pebbles, gravel and chalky stones; or on the limestone plateau of the Causse, where the soil was formed by sea deposits comprising clay with rocky limestone with a high red iron-oxide content.

The traditional vineyard planting consists of:
Malbec (locally called Auxerrois or Cot Noir) 80% with a minimum of 70% in encepagement. And not exceeding 30% of the planting:
Merlot—about 15%, Tannat—about 5%
Most of the oak-aged Cahors will be 100% Malbec.

Cahors wine has a bright, often deep red colour tending to be almost black in some vintages. Hence the term “Black wine of Cahors”. It is a tannic wine, very full in the mouth. With age it becomes more refined, velvety and attains some very distinguished aromas such as leather, chocolate, plums and tobacco. Blending with merlot has produced much more ready-to-drink wines.

So let's go and discover more about the grapes and wines of Cahors.