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The French Winophiles Tackle Cahors
September is a great time for our French Winophiles group to tackle Cahors, a wine region in the Sud de France. Cahors wines are big, bold, often rustic red wines based on the Malbec grape. They’re taylor made for the cooler days of autumn. Cruise down further in this post to see links to all the Winophiles posts, and if you see this soon enough, join our chat on Saturday, Sept. 8.  Details below!

Find Cahors in this map of the Occitanie region in the South of France. It’s the red region in the upper left section of the map. Courtesy of http://www.sud-de-france.com

Regional Confusion for the Non-Native
The regions of France can be a bit confusing for wine enthusiasts.  There are general geographic regions, then there are wine regions. Sometimes they have the same name, but the wine region may be a small subset. Then there’s the IGP or regional designation. The AOC and AOP specific regions with a specific certified origin product (not just wine). Finally, the grape name is usually not involved in any of this! Can you blame us?

Our subject today is Cahors. Start at the large region of Occitanie, which encompasses several large wine regions. Inside that you’ll find Sud-Ouest. Cahors is a small AOC wine region within Sud-Ouest. Cahors is also located just to the south of the Bordeaux region. The grape? Malbec. Yes, Malbec is not unique to Argentina. While Malbec is grown in a few other places in France, it is most prominent in Cahors, where it is the main grape used in the AOC wines of that name.

Unfortunately, Malbec was particularly vulnerable to the phylloxera pest and was virtually wiped out in all of France in the late 1800’s. The winegrowers in Cahors never gave up, and today the grape is flourishing again. The UIVC, or Union Interprofessional de Vins de Cahors, has a nice website with lots of good information for your exploration. However, the English language tab doesn’t work.  If you use Google Chrome, it will automatically translate the French version.

The malbec grape produces a dark wine with rich dark blue and black fruit flavors.

Chateau Eugenie Tradition Cahors AOC 2014 ($13 at Sunfish Cellars or online here)
Chateau Eugenie is a member of the French organization of Vignerons Independant, a group of smaller, non-corporate owned vignerons all around France. Once you get to know the organization, you’ll look for their symbol on French wines in your local wine shop. When you do, you’re supporting the smaller, independent winemaker.  Chateau Eugenie can trace their heritage as winegrowers all the way back to 1470, so you know they have it in their blood. The Tradition Cahors is composed of 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot. Listed at 12.5% abv (alcohol by volume), it’s a bit less ripe and extracted compared to your typical Malbec from Argentina.

My Notes
Eye: Clear, deep ruby with a cool garnet edge. Deeply colored almost to the edge of the wine. Lightly stained legs
Nose: Immediately on opening, you need to be prepared for some serious funk, straight from the barn. Deep dark black fruit, blackberries, ripe blueberries, with mint and eucalyptus behind that. If you enjoy a very earthy wine, you’ll enjoy this. If not, you may want to steer clear as the earthy nose doesn’t disappear after a few hours, it’s here to stay.
Mouth: Dry, medium+ flavor intensity. Medium+ acidity, medium+ tannins, the tannins are smooth and resolved but present. Deep blue fruit, ripe blackberries with a bit of tobacco and leather. Medium finish, with the non-fruit notes lingering.

(click on any photo for a full size slide show, hit “escape” to return)

Not quite forbidden, polenta isn’t on Julie’s short list of favorite foods. Of course, when she’s gone, I can go wild.

When the local brussels sprouts and carrots show up at the farmers market, we know fall is coming

If you’re OK with a distinctly earthy aroma (I am!), you’ll enjoy Chateau Eugenie Tradition Cahors

A little bit of forbidden perfection: lamb chops with grilled veggies on polenta

Cahors makes a great pairing for any grilled meat, and the polenta with grilled vegetables just added to the pairing.

Forbidden Foods Paired with Cahors
Whenever Julie is out for the evening, I dig out the foods she doesn’t care to eat.  Lamb chops are a favorite of mine and Julie can’t tolerate the aroma, so they are forbidden under normal circumstances. Looking for more non-favorites of my lovely wife, I first thought of figs. I found a recipe for lamb chops with fresh figs, score! Alas, no figs in the local co-op or the grocery store. We only see figs in Minnesota on rare occasions in the late summer, early fall. Racking my brain, I remembered polenta. Perfect!

I keep my lamb chop preparation pretty simple. Salt and pepper and some chopped fresh rosemary before grilling, then just a few minutes on each side to preferred level of doneness. I’m a big fan of Bill Buford’s method of preparing polenta (recipe here) from his excellent narrative in “Heat“. It’s a little like risotto, where you simply cannot rush the dish, you just need to be patient and wait for it to be ready.

If you’re ok with a wine where the earthy aroma is the first thing you sense, you’ll be very happy with this pairing. Lamb chops have their own distinct aroma and flavor and they seems right at home with the Chateau Eugenie Cahors. Creamy polenta with roasted brussels sprouts and carrots completed the delicious combination. Note that not every Cahors wine will have that distinctly old-world funky nose! Your choice may showcase the deep blue-black fruit notes.

Ready to eat!

Winophiles Uncover the Secrets of Cahors
Want to learn more? Follow the Winophiles Twitter chat on Saturday, September 15, 2018 with our hashtag: #Winophiles.

• Rob from Odd Bacchus tells the real deal on Cahors: A LOT to Love.
• Liz from What’s In That Bottle paints the place What’s Red, Wine, & Black All Over?
• Wendy from A Day In the Life On the Farm tempts the crowd with Basque Chicken Stew paired with Black Wine.
• Payal from Keep the Peas gives us a bit of everything we want with White Wine, Red Wine, Black Wine, Cahors!
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures With Camilla gets the party going by pairing Grilled Lamb Sirloin with Cèdre Héritage 2015.
• Rupal from Journeys Of A Syrah Queen inspires and delights with Crocus Wines – Exploring Cahors With Paul Hobbs
• Jeff from FoodWineClick! may be getting us in trouble with Forbidden Foods and Stinky Cahors.
• Robin from Crushed Grape Chronicles gets out the map and takes us to Cahors – Malbec from along the Winding River Lot.
• Jill at L’Occasion shares Cahors: Your Favorite Wine For Fall.