Together with my brother, we have been working the vineyards and making wine in Cahors for over 30 years. A cyclical life, in the rhythm of nature and seasons. But no two years are alike and each vintage brings new questions, surprises and successes.
As you may know, over the past decade, the part of sulfur-free wines in our cellars had been steadily growing . This was especially possible thanks to the outstanding work of my brother Jean-Marc and his team in the vineyards. Every year, we owe to them a perfect, ripe and healthy harvest in the cellar, where the grapes are taken over by Olivier, our cellar master since 19 years. The making, but especially the ageing and ripening of sulfur-free wines for 12 or even 24 months requires a high degree of rigor and a good feeling for the characters of the wines and vintages.
In 2017 our harvest was reduced to a minimum by strong spring frost. The only wine that was produced at our winery this year was the sulfur-free “Cuvee Extra Libre”. A real challenge for us, which perfectly illustrates the successful cooperation between cellar and vineyards in the best way possible.
Today we present the first wines of the wonderful 2018 vintage: The Malbec Extra Libre (already the 5th vintage for this cuvee). We hope you’ll enjoy it !
Extra Libre 2018
From the beginning, this cuvee showed up to be a crisp, thirst-quenching red wine. And the 2018 vintage confirms this trait again. It is one of those new wines from Cahors, which show that Malbec is a diverse, high-quality grape variety, with which one can produce a large number of different wines: From light and fresh, to full-bodied and complex.
In the nose you will find intense aromas of black fruits and spices, as well as some plant flavors such as mint and green pepper. Fresh and juicy on the palate, one has almost the impression of drinking pure grape juice, especially since the tannin structure is fine and discreet. A perfect summer wine that loves everything that has been grilled: fish, meat, vegetables ... Over the next few months, the wine will develop into a more serious profile, in which spicy flavors and crisp tannins will play a bigger role.