Chateau Haut-Montplaisir 2006 Cahors Prestige

The Wine... Cathy and Daniel Fournie are at the helm of a rising star, a newish estate in the southwest of France. Their 44 acres are planted primarily with Malbec, and the wines they produce show the expressiveness and depth of flavor possible in unfiltered versions of that varietal. Their terraced vineyards sit high above the Lot Valley in an area with soils rich in limestone and iron oxide, perfect for making wine of structure and mineral complexity. The wine is aged in cement tanks, allowing natural dark fruitiness to remain unsullied by oppresive oak.

The Legend of Black Wine... In the western foothills of the Massif Central a legendary wine was once made. From the winding banks of the Lot River, and particularly in the region’s high plains, came the black wine of Cahors. Fiery, intense, supernaturally concentrated stuff, fashioned from Malbec and Tannat, grapes undeniably up to the task of making wine in which you could stand up your spoon. A long time ago they made a lot of it, and the prized black wine was traded across Europe. Today the wines of Cahors are less monolithic. Some producers continue in the quest to make wine that distinct historic fashion. Many others, including Clos Siguier have chosen to explore other untapped facets of their indigenous grapes’ capabilities, particularly the possibility of freshness and brightness in wines fashioned from the Malbec grape.

Rivalry and Decline... Large scale commercial success for the wines of Cahors ended mostly because of a wealthy rival to the east. Bordeaux made lots of (at the time much lighter) wine, and all major rivers of the Southwest, including the Lot, flowed together before draining into the Atlantic at the city of Bordeaux. So the politicians of Bordeaux could effectively turn off the spigot of black wine entering the export markets through usurious tariffs and fees, and they did so in protection of their own vinous self-interest. Bordeaux had the wealth (initially accrued through these types of tariffs and from the slave trade) to buy sufficient political and military power to enforce such unjust trading practices. Cahors dried up, particularly so in the post-phylloxera era at the beginning of the 20th century. The wines maintained a modest reputation domestically but became rare and exotic items abroad.