Bloomberg wine columnist Elin McCoy spent a few days in Cahors during the 2009 Spring and became a "fan" of its Malbec wines. Her recent article on Cahors Malbecs explains why she enjoyed the wines and the new Cahors strategy to gain market shares. Elin's insightful article is available on the Bloomberg site.

Cahors had a beautiful booth in Vinexpo, next to the Wines of Argentine one. Small but striking, the Cahors booth attracted the attention of many wine professionals who stopped by to take pictures, talk to Jeremy Arnaud, the Marketing Dircetor or Laurent Marre, a Cahors sommelier as well as taste many of the wines.

Dave McIntyre was one of them. Wine and food writer, wine columnist for the Wasthington Post, Dave tasted the range of Cahors Malbecs under the learned guidance of Laurent Marre: "These were arranged from fruity and accessible to more tannic, expressive and expensive. Yet there was an impressive continuity of style and flavors, as one would expect from a wine region that has found its voice. These are large, tannic wines for the most part, with impressive structure, lots of fruit, and minerally finish."

His winners? Château Lamartine, Mas de Périé (organic), Le Cèdre (organic), Château La Reyne.

Thanks to Dave for such a wide tasting and his appreciation.

Cahors Malbecs are really the latest trend in the wine business. While dining at Château Lafite, American journalist Elin McCoy talked to British Adam Lechmere from Decanter.com on the Cahors wines. To her, it's one of the highlights of Vinexpo. Watch the video.

Les vins de Cahors à Vinexpo from vininews on Vimeo.

Andreas Larson, 2007 Best Sommelier of the World, presented his favorite wines in the elegant Tasted magazine. Among his selection for the South Wast, 8 Cahors Malbecs were picked by this outstanding expert:

Château Chambert, cuvée Chambert Gourmand, 2006
Mas del Périé, cuvée Tradition 2006
Domaine de la Bérangeraie, cuvée Maurin, 2006
Château Cantelauze, Cuvée L’Abreuvoir, 2006
Rigal, Les Terrasses, 2006
Château Pineraie, 2006
Château Nozières, Cuvée Ambroise de l’Her, 2006
Domaine de Cause, Cuvée Notre Dame des Champs, 2006

Congratulations to the producers!

Chateau Paillas is located near Floressas, in the Cahors appellation and produces Cahors Malbec wines since 1978. The owners launched a blog both in French and in English a few weeks ago. The blog is regularly updated and very informative: there are articles on the terroir, a discussion on Argentinian and Cahors Malbecs, news on the 2007 vintage. Feel free to enjoy your reading... without moderation!

The final program of the Malbec Summit held during Vinexpo Bordeaux on June 22, 2009 is now published. Keynote speakers come from the US, such as Elin McCoy, author of The Emperor of Wine, wine journalist and international wine judge, British journalist Anthony Rose, from The Independent, Stephen Brooks, author of numerous books on Bordeaux, Southern wines of France and journalist as well as enologists and marketing experts.

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.