Here are our winners:

Gold : Domaine de Cause (Cuvée Malbec), Château Fantou 2007 (Cuvée Tradition), Château Lamartine 2006 (Cuvée expression), Clos Troteligotte 2007 (La Perdrix), Château des Roches 2007 (Vendémiaire),

Silver : Château Laur 2007 (Vieilles Vignes), Château Trompette, Château de Gaudou 2006 (Cuvée Grande Lignée), Domaine de La Garde 2006 (élévé en fût de chêne), Mas del Périé 2007 (Tradition)

Bronze : Château la Pineraie (cuvée Malbec), Château Le Brézeguet 2006 (vieilles vignes), Domaine d’Homs 2007 (Cuvée tradition), Domaine Ichard 2007, Camp del Saltre 2007, Mont Laur 2007 (Tradition).

Congratulations to all of them!

Queen Margrethe of Denmark and her French-born husband Prince Henrik are enjoying their annual summer break at their wine-growing estate of Château de Cayx, near the historic town in the south-west of France. The couple bought the property in 1974 and have lovingly restored the 14th century estate over the years. Their wines are well rated by wine critics.

Five Cahors wines got a wonderful note in the June 2008 issue of the Wine Spectator: two are from Clos Triguedina, 1 from Clos Troteligotte (site only in French), 1 from Château de Haute Serre (page only in French) and the last one, from Croix du Mayne (page only in French).

- 93/100 - Clos Triguedina, The Black Wine 2005
- 92/100 - Clos Triguedina, Probus 2005
- 91/100 - Clos Troteligotte, CQFD 2005
- 90/100 - Château de Haut-Serre 2004
- 90/100 - François Pélissié, Croix du Mayne 2005.

Congratulations!

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 [email protected].