2020 Château du Cedre Malbec 'Juvéniles' Cahors
Cahors, France
100% certified organic Malbec from 15-30 year old vines on limestone. Vinified without addition of sulphites. Extraction by punching down the cap at the beginning of fermentation. Barrel fermentation for about 30 days at 25°C. Elevage without addition of sulphites in 57 HL casks.
Tasting Notes
Medium to deep purple in color. Aromas of black plum, cassis, ripe blackberry, açaí blueberry, leather, vanilla, & earthy minerality. Palate is dry, but fruit forward. Medium bodiewd, with juicy acid and mellow tannins. The palate mirrors the nose with some notes of black olive and bitter cocoa towards the finish. Altogether a fresh and drinkable Malbec!
About Château du Cedre
Brothers Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe bring a welcome refinement to the wines of picturesque Cahors, located about an hour and a half east of Bordeaux. The Verhaeghe vineyards were founded in the 1950s by Léon Verhaeghe, who had moved to the Lot region from his native Belgium a few years previously. His son Charles began making wines at Château du Cèdre in the 1970s and was a pioneer in that he planted vines on the poor stony soils of the Cahors appellation, at a time when most wines were mass produced. Since 1988, third-generation Pascal and Jean-Marc have continued in the same vein, perfecting the approach with their meticulous work in the vineyard and the cellar.
In 2000, the use of herbicides and chemicals was banned, and the estate was certified organic in 2012. Cahors wines are made predominantly from Malbec and are known for being powerful, rich, and dark. Pascal and Jean-Marc build on these terroir-driven qualities to produce highly polished and remarkably balanced wines, utilizing long aging periods in oak barrels and 57HL casks. These wines are quite approachable when young and also age exceptionally well.
Their meticulous approach and time-honored tradition produces wines that are focused and concentrated, long and elegant, truly capturing the beautiful Lot terroir. Today, the fourth generation, Pascal’s sons Jules and Robin, have joined the family estate, bringing a new momentum for the future.