Here is the program:

Monday June 22nd, Hall 2, Room 221.

Session 1:  10:00 - 11:30 AM: “A World of Malbecs: Cahors & Argentina” - in English (simultaneous translation into French).
Presentation and sit-down tasting
- 10:00-10:10: The American journalist and author, Elin Mc Coy, will introduce the history of the Malbec grape to the audience and moderate the panel.
- 10:10-10:50: Tasting of 6 Malbecs from Cahors and 6 from Argentina by the British journalist, Anthony Rose.
- 10:50-11:20: Round table discussion on “Cahors and Argentina: different and complementary Malbecs” with Lydia and Claude Bourguignon, enologists and wine makers in Cahors, Andres Rosberg, President of the Argentinian Sommeliers Association, Pr. Nicolas Vivas, director of CESAMO Research Library.
- Presentation of the Cahors Malbec bottle by Gilles Boix, representative of Saint-Gobain, in connection with the international strategy of the Cahors Malbecs.
11:20-11:30: Conclusion and wrap-up by ElinMcCoy
- Official announcement of the upcoming International Malbec Competition by Hervé Romat (Nov. 2009) and The International Malbec Days in Cahors (May 21-23, 2010).

Session 2: 12 to 2 PM: “Best of Cahors Malbec” in French (simultaneous translation into English)
Presentation and sit-down tasting with buffet lunch (prepared by a chef from the Cahors region).
- 12:00-12:10: Introduction by Jérémy Arnaud, UIVC Marketing Director
- 12:10-12:25: Panel discussion on the styles and characteristics of the Cahors Malbecs by journalists Stephen Brook and Roger Morris and wine consultant François Gaillard.
- 12:25-14:00: interactive tasting and discussion of their selection of 12 Malbec AOC Cahors for each of the three market segments of the Cahors wines: tender and fruity; feisty and powerful; intense and complex. Jeremy Arnaud will present the wine maker and the estate. At the end, the 3 favorite wines will be elected.

Professionals and press are invited to register for one or both sessions.

Cahors is now considered as one of the important wine producer in the Malbec category. The British journalist, Anthony Rose, noticed "the long-lived wines of Cahors": "Cahors is of course the French home of the malbec, known as cot or auxerrois until Argentina came along and gave it an image makeover as malbec. It's here that passionate growers like Pascal Verhaeghe of Château du Cèdre, have worked their socks off to produce superbly rich and concentrated reds like the 2005 Château du Cèdre, Le Cèdre, around £20, Lea & Sandeman, Great Western Wines, Les Caves de Pyrène, £24.99, with its vanilla-suffused aromas and black cherry and chocolatey-fruit quality."

Anthony Rose will be one of the keynote speakers of the Malbec Summit on June 22, 2009 during Vinexpo.

When most French wine exports figures are plummeting (-18,8% in volume and -23,4% in value), Cahors wine sales are rising sharply for the first quarter of 2009, confirming the 2008 rise: +5% (+3,8% in 2008).

The sharper rise happened on the American market: +66% in value (+41,733 bottles) and +16,4% in value (+42,000 euros). This piece of good news is of a good omen as the Cahors Malbecs just launched a 3-year campaign on the American market, starting on May 12, 2009 by a seminar and a tasting at the Astor Center. Cahors is investing 1M euros in this campaign, partially funded by the European Union.

Jeremy Arnaud, Marketing Director of the UIVC, the professional body of Cahors producers, is very optimistic as for the future of the appellation on international markets: he's even predicting a 2-figure rise in percentage for 2009. He's only concerned by two small disappointments: the price of the bottle went down from 2,96 euros in 2008 to 2,73 euros for the first quarter of 2009 and a slight decrease in volume (-2%) in French speaking Canada, a traditional market for the Cahors Malbecs. But he hopes to increase his market shares in the English speaking Canada as part of the American campaign.

The international campaign continues with a Malbec Summit held in Vinexpo Bordeaux on June 22, 2009 where press and trade will be introduced to the Cahors Malbecs by international experts: Elin McCoy (US), Anthony Rose (UK), Andre Rosberg, President of the Argentinian Sommelier Association and many others.

21 Cahors Malbecs (out of a total of 74 winners) were awarded a Medal by the Decanter in its World Wine Awards. The Gold Medal came to Château Lamartine Cuvee Particuliere 2006. Here is the list of the winners:

Silver Medals:
Château Le Cèdre, Le Cèdre 2005
Château du Cèdre 2006
Château Gaudou, Renaissance 2006
Château Lamartine, Expression 2007
Clos Triguedina, Le Petit Clos Triguedina 2008

Bronze Medals:
Château Croze de Pys, Prestige 2006
Château du Port, Cuvée Prestige 2007
Château Famaey, Cuvée X 2005
Château Haut Monplaisir Prestige 2005
Château Le Pigeonnier 2005
Château Les Hauts d’Aglan 2007
Château Pineraie 2007

Decanter also recommended:

Château Pineraie, L’Authentique 2007
Château Pineraie, malbec 2006
Baron de Lagrézette, 40ème anniversaire 2005
Château Lagrézette 2005
Château du Port, Tertre Perdigous 2007
Château Famaey, Fût de Chêne 2005
Château Haut Monplaisir 2006
Château Les Haut d’Aglan 2006

Congratulations to the winners!