I admit being a real fan of wines from south-western France since many years. It all started with the discovery of some ENORMEOUS Malbec from Cahors, some COSMIC wines from Jurançon and some fine wines from Madiran, full of character. All of them were complex, juicy and atypical, showing astonishing ageing capacity, as well as wonderful “drinkability” in their youth. Just great wines. Since then, I often thought that wines and tastes might be divided into “France” and “South-West”.

Cèdre Héritage Gros Manseng

A couple of days ago, I stumbled over a bottle from Pascal Verhaeghe of Château du Cèdre in Cahors, that I never tasted before: Le Cèdre Héritage 2010, a sweet Côtes de Gascogne made from 100% of Gros Manseng. And, does the wine taste as curious as the label? I’d rather say, yes. The dark shiny, straw coloured wine promises a lot of power, and its nose is indeed very intense, but far from being overloaded: dried flower and hay, walnuts, vanilla and honey. Promising. But the wine is surprisingly light on the palate, with comfortable mouth feel, slight mellowness and moderate acidity. Fresh apples and pears dominate the flavours, but leaving enough space for (fresh) flowers and honey to express. A very pleasant wine, you would open without hesitating for an aperitif, or serve on warm apple pie and pancakes with caramelized apples and hazelnuts.

You see, light, pleasant, easy-drinking wines… they also exist in south-western France.