Cahors (wine)

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Red wine from Cahors

The Cahors is a red wine from the southwest of France (→ Sud-Ouest ). The growing area, named after the city of Cahors , is located in the Lot Valley . The growing area for quality wine ( AOC ) covers almost 4,500 hectares. In the 2006/07 cycle, 170,000 hectoliters were sold.

Soil and climate

Vineyard of the Château du Cèdre near Cahors

Most of the vineyards are located on the gravel terraces within the meander formed by the Lot . However, the lowest terrace is too close to the river and therefore not suitable for viticulture; Only the second and third terrace are planted. In addition, the limestone plateau called the Causse is increasingly being used again for viticulture.

The climate of Cahors is predominantly Atlantic with hot summers and humid winters. In contrast to the Bordelais , however, the influence of the Mediterranean can also be felt, and the proximity of the Massif Central occasionally causes severe frost in winter, which is only alleviated by the proximity of the Lot River.

Vineyards

Today's wine-growing region is essentially west of the city of Cahors. The most important places are Mercuès, Parnac, Luzech, Prayssac, Grézels, Puy-l'Èveque and Viré. They are all in the Lot Valley.

Grape varieties

The wine of Cahors draws its character mainly from one grape variety, the Malbec , which there is called Côt or Auxerrois . It must be at least 70% in the cuvée . Merlot and Tannat are grown as complementary varieties .

The Jurançon Noir grape variety has not been approved since the 1996 harvest .

Characteristic

The different geological and hydrographic conditions within the growing area result in different types of wine. The traditional wine from Cahors is a full-bodied and long-lived red wine with a deep dark color. Since it closes in the bottle after one or two years and only opens again later, it should be drunk either very young or matured. With age it develops complex aromas that are sometimes reminiscent of truffles . Wines of this type grow on the loamy-sandy soils of the upper terraces.

The lowest terrace, on the other hand, with its fertile and moist soil, delivers fruity, lighter wines that should be drunk young.

A third of today's cultivation area is on the limestone plateau. Strong, tannin-rich red wines grow on its lean and dry soil, and their youthful hardness definitely requires a longer storage period.

In contrast to Bordeaux , a typical Cahors is matured in large wooden barrels and not in barrique barrels . However, this fashion has also reached Cahors, so that today numerous wines are prepared in an international style based on Bordeaux.

Vintages

The vintages show clear parallels to Bordeaux. The best vintages of the last ten years were 2005, 2001, 2000 and 1998.

Producer

The leading producers have come together in the Seigneurs de Cahors Association. The renowned establishments include Clos de Gamot, Château de Haute-Serre, Château de Mercuès, Château du Cèdre, Clos La Coutale, Château La Caminade, Château de Lagrézette, Château Saint-Didier-Parnac, Clos Triguedina and Château de Grézels.

history

From antiquity to the phylloxera crisis

Viticulture in the Lot Valley goes back to the Romans. In the Middle Ages , the black wine of Cahors enjoyed great popularity, in the 14th century more than half of the wine shipped from Bordeaux to England came from the Quercy. Pope John XXII , who came from Cahors . planted vines from Cahors in Avignon . François I hired a winemaker from Cahors named Rivals to plant a vineyard in Fontainebleau .

However, after the fall of the city of Cahors in the Hundred Years War , Bordeaux gained control of the wine trade. Until the French Revolution , trade restrictions and tariffs made it difficult to export the wines of the Haut Pays. Viticulture in the Lot Valley only experienced a major boom again in 1850, when the vineyards of the Bordelais were attacked by oidium , but Cahors was spared. In 1866 58,000 hectares were planted compared to 40,000 at the beginning of the 19th century . However, phylloxera put an end to this boom quickly. The vineyards on the plateau, where the vines are less deeply rooted, suffered the most and completely disappeared.

The black wine of Cahors

Cahors was known for its black wine until the 19th century . This was made from grapes that were dried in the oven before fermentation, or from grape must that was boiled down. After fermentation, it was aged in barrels for up to ten years. Usually it was used for offcuts.

The renaissance in the 20th century

After the phylloxera crisis, the vineyards in the Lot Valley were planted with grafted vines . The Malbec had to give way in part to the more profitable, but qualitatively inferior Jurançon. The few producers who stuck to the tradition founded the Syndicat de défense de l'appellation d'origine Cahors in 1929 . In 1947 the Parnac wine cooperative was founded and in 1951 the Cahors wine was granted VDQS status . Nevertheless, the heavy frost of 1956 almost meant the end of the Cahors. The increasing demand for quality wines in the 1960s, however, brought a new boom, which was crowned in 1971 with the award of AOC status. The then French President Georges Pompidou , who owned land in the Lot department, also played a role. Since then, the Cahors has gradually regained its reputation. The strong growth in cultivation area and the large number of newly established, self-bottling winegrowing businesses testify to this. Today 80% of production is sold in France itself, 8% in other EU countries and 12% outside the EU.

Literature and individual references

Web links

  1. ↑ a b Martine Robert: Le malbec de Cahors s'essaie au tango argentin. In: Les Echos of April 5, 2008, p. 12. The information comes from the Union interprofessionelle du vin de Cahors .
  2. ↑ Le Guide 2007 des millésimes . Supplement to the Revue du vin de France