Wines from Cahors

Cahors is another sub region of the Gers, based around the small town of Cahors in the Lot dept. It is an AOC, granted in 1960, and red wine dominates with the local Malbec (locally know as Cot) planted throughout. Red wines labelled as Cahors must have a minimum of 70% Malbec, alongside small quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tannat. There are approximately 4,500 Ha of vineyards, mostly planted on low terraces or slopes looking toward the Lot River. Summers are long and dry, but heavy rainfall in autumn and winter are retained in the clay soils.  

Cahors used to be called 'The Black Wine' as winemakers used to boil the red grape juice to darken it so it could be added as a 'richening ' wine into such wines as Burgundy and Bordeaux. Thankfully that practice no longer occurs, and Cahors can stand alongside similar wines from Argentina or rustic reds from the Gers or Languedoc regions