Dave McIntyre on Malbec in The Washington Post

You know a grape reached worldwide fame when it makes the news in a great newspaper. In his article on Malbec for The Washington Post, Dave McIntyre concludes: “I knew Argentina had succeeded and become a wine force to reckon with when I attended last year’s Vinexpo, the great biennial trade fair in Bordeaux. The trade association for Cahors, the region in southwestern France that can legitimately claim to be the homeland of malbec (though they call the grape by a variety of names) set up its booth adjacent to the Argentine section in a direct challenge to the New World upstarts from Mendoza. Their slogan: “Cahors — The French Malbec.” ”

Here is a rather odd twist in history: would Cahors be piggybacking on Argentine? Not quite. Let’s go through the reasons why, according to Dave McIntyre, Argentine Malbec is successful in the US:

- Foreign investments in Argentina: one of the main investors considered is the French Michel Rolland or Paul Hobbs who was a guest of the Third International Malbec Days in May in Cahors;
- the star media are talking about Argentine Malbec;
- Value: Argentina knows how a make a great Malbec at $5 or $100. So does Cahors. Cahors wines have three major styles : tender and fruity, feisty and powerful, intense and complex with price range from $6 to $80.

It would seem there is no reason why Cahors Malbec would not rise to the same fame as its Argentinian counterparts and become the “darling” of American consumers. Cheers!