Tease of Cahors

Usually, wine producers don't travel halfway around the world for tastings unless their wines are available in the place they're visiting -- why tease anyone with a taste of wine they can't obtain? But sometimes, as in the case of Cahors, the wine region in southwestern France, producers hit the road to attract importers, restaurateurs and writers, and to build excitement for the wine in a region where it's not well-known.

Argentine Malbec is better known in the U.S. than French -- though Cahors maintains it is the birthplace of Malbec. A Cahors wine must be 70% Malbec to carry the Cahors label. Many are 100% Malbec and, if not, they are commonly blended with Merlot.

At a tasting of 21 Cahors producers in San Francisco today I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Cahors Malbec. The wines, as a group, were deeply saturated in color (they call Malbec the "black grape"), pleasantly herbal, fruity, and most of all, they were not the tannic monsters I was expecting -- even recent vintages like the 2007. I tasted wines from the 2002 to the 2008 vintages and found none unpleasantly or powerfully tannic. I enjoyed the wines -- and that's saying a lot since my own tastes run more to tart and snappy whites (Cahors makes no white wine) and earthy, crisp reds.

Only one of the wines, Chateau La Coustarelle, is available in California. But many others can be found in Texas, New York, Washington state, and others.  Wines I particularly enjoyed, and labels to look for, include Chateau Vincens, Domaine Les Roques De Cana, Mas Del Perie, Domaine Le Bout Du Lieu and Chateau Armandiere. Prices are generally reasonable. One of my favorites, Le Vins des Noces from Domaine Les Roques De Cana (not yet available in the U.S.) sells for only 10 Euros, or about $14.