Journalist Neil Sowerby, from the Manchester Evening News, told us about the "delights of French wines" in his recent article. Along with wines from Touraine or Jurançon, he tasted Clos La Coutale he declared the winner:

"Easily the star of the tasting was the most expensive bottle. Clos la Coutale Cahors (£8.50) is a smooth, modern version of that south-west region's legendary `black wine'. Since the 13th century growers there have traditionally produced an inky red, high in alcohol and tannins, primarily from the harsh auxerrois grape (better known as Malbec, currently triumphing in Argentina), with merlot and tannat adding structure and fruit respectively. Indeed, Clos La Coutale reminds me of those Argentine Malbecs with its jammy black fruit and of liquorice scents and earthy velvety texture. Very attractive."

British wine writer Joanna Simon wrote on her trip to Cahors in the Sunday Times, dated March 30th:

"When I first went to Cahors, in the Lot valley, it certainly wasn’t for the wine. Legendary though the ‘black wine’ of Cahors was, the reality was more likely to be thin and unripe-tasting, with the texture of sandpaper. We drank it because that’s all there was to go with the local food which, unlike the vino, was terrific – lamb reared in limestone causses, cabécou goat’s cheese, challengingly crusty loaves, shockingly sweet melons and, of course, foie gras.

“I’m happy to say the food is little changed. And the markets, including lots of summer marchés fermiers, where there are always one or two wine producers with stalls, are still the best place to stock up your picnic before a drive or cycle into the vineyards, which run west along the river from Cahors to Puy l’Evêque. Now, though, visiting the vineyards is a pleasure not just because of the beautiful, rugged terrain, but because of the wine, such have been the improvements.

“There are lighter-bodied cahors, but the best bottles are dark, densely fruity and built to last. Clos Triguedina, eight generations in the Baldès family, even makes New Black Wine, using a variant of the original 19th-century heating process to achieve the colour.

“My other favourites include Château du Cèdre, Domaine de Maison Neuve, Domaine la Bérangeraie and the tiny, English-owned Domaine du Garinet, where Mike and Sue Spring make three different cahors, together with a rosé and two white vins de pays – as well as cakes, breads, chutneys and pickles from their own walnuts and prunes. It’s a relaxed region, and often you can just drop in, but it’s worth ringing in advance.”

Make it happen: Brittany Ferries (0870 907 6103, www.brittany-ferries.co.uk) and P&O Ferries (0871 664 5645, www.poferries.com) run cross-Channel car ferries. For vineyard details, visit www.vindecahors.fr; for a list of local tourist offices, which stock a wine route brochure, the Circuit du Vignoble de Cahors, go to www.tourisme-lot.com. Le Vert (00 33-5 65 365136, www.hotellevert.com), at Mauroux, is a lovely inn, with doubles from £65. Walks France (05 65 31 83 39, www. walksfrance.com) has eight-day wine-themed walking holidays in the region; for details, e-mail james@walksfrance.com.

Several blogs' authors mentioned Cahors wines in their posts. We are happy to see more and more of them interested by our wines. Here are our latest finds:

-  Marquis Rocadour 2005 by Bob Perkins on his blog bobparkinsconsulting.blog.com;

- Château du Gaudou by an importer of NYC, Vinotas who visited one of his favorite wine makers in Vinisud last month.

Enjoy the reading and taste the wines!

A free English-speaking magazine, Le Forty-Six, created a quizz and announced our International Days in its current issue. Take the quizz and have fun!

To access the magazine, go to the site and download the current issue of Le Forty-Six (button on the left part of the screen).

The Wine MBA students came from the capital of Burgundy, Dijon, to spend almost a week in the Cahors vineyards. They were the guests of the Cahors wine makers and producers who entertained them in their home, showed them their vineyards, made them taste the best wine and food pairing: dark mushrooms and Cahors wines were a big success.

The purpose of this trip was to teach the students how to react as professional buyers in a wine producing area. More than the classes and the video conferences, the students enjoyed the discovery of the people, the traditions and the qualities of an entire region.

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