The wine world is a trendy place, full of one hit wonders and fashionable ‘pop-wines’. Working in wine retail you often get asked the same question many times over by different customers. Usually the phrase starts with “Do you have…?”, and ends with “Ok, well thanks anyway” or “Sure, I’ll give that a try, sounds good.” Of late it seems one of the most popular questions has been “Do you have….some malbec?!”, and our response is generally, “Yes, of course! But…” there’s a catch. While most of the malbec inquiries are directed toward the malbec’s that come from South America, Argentina to be specific, we often only have one to offer from that region. On the other hand (and here’s the catch) we probably have several from the grapes original home: France! Now, don’t get us wrong, we are not discounting the malbec’s of Argentina completely, it’s just that we have so little space that we simply cannot offer an array of South American options (that would take away precious space from our French M̶a̶l̶b̶e̶c̶ Côt section). So, why the strikethrough text? Well, malbec has a curious history as a grape variety and we thought that since so many people enjoy it that we should dedicate an entire tasting to it and explore this popular, yet often misunderstood little grape.
Malbec or “Côt” (pronounced ‘KO’) as the French would call it, actually originates way down in the south west of France, in an appellation called Cahors. Here the wine is deep in color with a rugged texture that pairs magically with the region’s favorite dish, cassoulet. From there Côt took a journey to Bordeaux, just up the river valley, where for centuries it was used as a common blending grape to add texture and color to the leaner wines of the region. Finally, as grapes tend to do, Côt meandered up to the Loire valley where today the grape is experiencing a bit of a revival by a handful of dedicated producers in the central area of the Touraine. Tonight we take inspiration from our beloved customer-friends and look at malbec-côt (call it what you’d like) and explore each of these regions. Yes, fear not, there will be a malbec from Argentina!
The Lineup:
NV Domaine Augis, La Rosee-Method Traditionnelle, Loire Valley, France
A pink, bottle feremented, sparkling M̶a̶l̶b̶e̶c̶ Côt from the tiny appellation of Valencay in the eastern Loire. This is so delicate and refreshing that you might forget all together that it is malbec, but those bright red fruits and gentle spice are there to remind you. Maybe we are thinking ahead to Valentine’s Day with this one…yum.
Domaine Augis, Cuvee les Cosses, Loire Valley, France
Philippe Augis is a fifth generation winemaker in the village of Valencay, known more for its goat cheese than its wine. Philippe has a small biodynamic farm and enjoys wild boar hunting in his spare time. He is one of the few in his village that pay any attention to Côt and his wines are always a tremendous value and terroir driven.
Dom. Puzelat-Bonhomme, ‘KO’: In Côt We Trust, Touraine, Loire
Thierry Puzelat is a legendary figure in the Loire natural wine world. He is considered one of the greats in all of France and has inspired many producers younger than him to take up the craft of vins naturels. ‘ In Côt We Trust’ is from Thierry and his brother’s small negoce winery. The objective is to source from old vine growth of near forgotten grape varieties once more prevalent in the Loire. This is an emblematic example of Loire Valley Côt; unsulfured and un-spoofed.
Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours, Cotes de Blaye, Bordeaux
Yes, do a double-take, this is BORDEAUX we are pouring here! As mentioned above, malbec once had a much more important role in the lean, structured wines of Bordeaux. Today modern winemaking techniques have made the grape all but obsolete in the vast majority of wines from Bordeaux. Chateau Peybonhomme is one of the very few houses that work heavily with malbec, in this vintage up to 20% of the blend (cabernet franc and merlot). Biodynamic, naturally made Bordeaux for $15? Yeah, it does exist.
Clos Siguier, Cahors, South West France
Ok, so this is where Malbec actually originally comes from. Deep in the mountainous south-west of France, where the Cathars and Visigoths once roamed, this deeply structured, darkly colored wine tells the story of a rugged land. Called “vin noir” or black wine because of its inky color this wine is the perfect winter warmer. Spiced and earthy with a pleasant amount of funk.
Yellow+Blue, Malbec, Argentina
We would be remiss not to have a great value Argentinian malbec and this has been our favorite since its debut three vintages ago. The wine is in a 1 liter tetrapak (~1/3more wine than a bottle) saving lots of space and money in transport costs…the bottom line, you’re paying for better quality wine and not for heavy bottles. Yellow+Blue=Green.