The myth about Malbec that you shouldn't believe

Douglas Blyde on why Malbec belongs to south-west France 
Douglas Blyde22 June 2017

‘Many think Malbec originated in Argentina,’ says Yann Potet, maître de maison of 13th-century Château de Mercuès. ‘But, since ancient Rome, the grape belonged to Cahors.’

We meet amid newly coopered barrels below the cellar’s curvy ceiling, then climb to the battlements. Rather than barbarian hordes, Cahors’ 4,200 hectares of Malbec — paling in quantity, not quality, when compared with the 25,000 hectares sown in Mendoza — string below. In the chapel, diffused light illuminates names of a succession of 79 bishops who made this their summer palace.

‘It may be used as a conference room today,’ Potet notes, pragmatically. Toothsome paintings by local Marcel Bénaïs feverishly peer from walls up to three metres thick.

From 1950 the warren-like hotel catered to a jazz-loving jet-set, later being snapped up by wine merchant Georges Vigouroux in 1983 — the pinnacle of a plan to reinstate the reputation of Malbec from south-west France. ‘Worth noting,’ says Potet, ‘wines from Bordeaux, three hours’ drive west, foregrounded the variety until the catastrophic 1956 frost devastated most of the crop.’

Vigouroux’s other bastion in the Lot, a valley famed for truffles and saffron, is Château de Haute-Serre. Aided by dynamite and diggers, Vigouroux replanted abandoned vineyards here before buying Mercuès. Jostling Malbec, I spy new Pinot Noir plantings and Chardonnay. Our guide shares a story of two nine-year-olds who stole away during a wedding, later discovered dozily clutching tannic straws by an open barrel.

All wines, including the fatty Chenin, impress. Of Malbec, 1988 Mercuès, poured with pink duck at the Michelin-star dining room, is soulful while ultra-concentrated ‘Icon WOW’, made by both châteaux, is aptly titled (£166, cmwines.com). Also seek perfumed Cuvée Géron Dadine de Haute-Serre 2010 (£32) and Château de Mercuès’ chiselled Grand Vin 2008 (£21), both from Malbec lovers. (dulwichvintners.co.uk; chateaudemercues.com)

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