Seven years - that’s a good moment to taste a wine, which can be stored for 10 to 15 years. Halftime. The first half of the game is up, time to make a point and to develop a strategy for the upcoming years: drink soon or continue ageing?

2009 applies as a sunny vintage, perfectly reflecting in the bouqet this blend of 90% Malbec and 5% Merlot and Tannat. Powerful and exuberant, the aroma of black cherries, mint and bay leaf seems to jump right out of the glass... Completed by hints of raspberrie marmelade and the smell of fresh pastries, I would characterize it as a “winter fragrance”,.

On the palate, sweet spices are showing up, emphasizing the gentlemanlike character of the wine: straight, fresh and smooth. The tannins seem to have been tamed by time, friendly tickling the palate. They accompany the wine on the long, fresh final, gaining in strength and depth. Mint flavors leave a fresh aftertaste. Enjoy it from 2016 to 2021.

FOOD MATCHES FOR HERBIVORES: Try a gratin of root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, parsnips) or serve the wine as an aperitif with lukewarm vegetable chips (parsnip, carrot and beetroot!).

FOOD MATCHES FOR CARNIVORES: Simple and tasty dishes, such as a calf Kottelet with red wine sauce or a steak with juniper butter. And sauté potatoes!

Nobody really knows the secret of old vines, but the legends (sometimes urban) are many. It appears for example, they make better wines than the young ones, nevertheles, no one can really prove it. Whatsoever, winemaking is a complex process, just the age of the vines is not sufficient to “do good.”

Fortunately Bacchus happened to meet several key factors: very old vines (CENTENARIANS), a great variety (CARIGNAN), a Mediterranean vintage (2009), a passionate and experienced winemaker (PIERRE).

Garnet red with plenty of light and fire, a powerful nose of gingerbread, figs and prunes with a hint of cherry and brandy. Yes, I dare say the word “brandy” and I know what you’re thinking: there is alcohol... And yes, it is a warm and generous wine, a Mediterranean wine made in a Mediterranean vintage, but it all perfectly fits! Soft palate, even velvety, silky tannins, the whole thing carried by a good background of freshness. It is long in the mouth, even very long, generous and spicy. Although already 5 years old, it can still be kept in the cellar, as the tannins and the flavours promise great potential for development.

HERBIVORE SUPPORT : A pumpkin pie with sesame seeds and some sweet yellow onions to enhance softness would be good for this wine. You may also add TURMERIC, CORIANDER seeds and CARAWAY to face the wines spiciness. I suggest to put some RACLETTE cheese on top, whose taste is more pronounced than GRUYÈRE cheese.

CARNIVORE SUPPORT : A RIBEYE STEAK, a BBQ, some salt and pepper... et voila! I also encourage the choice of EGGPLANT LASAGNE with LAMB MEAT or hot and spicy SQUID.

A white wine with a warm, golden color. An expressive nose with smells of quince, white blossoms and spices. But its real flavours seem to explode on the palate: Apple, backed pears, pleasant smells of fresh barrique, a hint of smoke… Full-bodied and fresh, it has a creamy texture that makes me think of a fluffy vanilla and cinnamon sabayone.

This wine whets your appetite, asking for good food! But it also invites to far niente, lingering in an arm chair, sipping on a glass of wine, wasting time.
So tonight I’ll have to improvise, with some middle-aged goat cheese from the Cevennen, flavourful olive oil from Spain and fresh sesame bread. With the full glass in my right hand, the bread, cheese and olive oil in my left, I jump into the arm chair and wait for the night to come. Tasty waste of time…

As usual, this wine shows up in dark, purple clothes.

A little restrained in the nose, but multifaceted: Smoky smell, dark and dry fruits, a hint of mint, a little oak, cinnamon, as well as the alluring aromas of freshly baked pastry. This wine needs a little time to open up, use a decanter if you’re impatient to taste it.

Straight on the palate, with lively acidity, medium-bodied and with tight, young but fine tannins that last until the end. The final is rather long, dominated by freshness, crispy tannins and sour cherries.

You may appreciate this wine already now, for example on roast pork and roast beef, or keep it for another 8 years.

Tasted in November 2012

Every year, when the cold reaches France, I take a plunge into my cellar to look for wines from Rasteau. Mostly I am looking for the Rasteau from Yves Gras, a wine I really like, but obviously there are other interesting wines from this appellation. But don’t take me wrong, I never said you should drink Rasteau only in winter! It’s just the cold that makes me think of it.

After having opened the bottle, I smell plums, fresh earth and hints of venison. On the palate it’s surprisingly fresh, with young tannins (it’s a 2009) and a long final. The wine is cold, so I leave it for half an hour to warm up and let it breathe.

When I get back to the wine, it’s much more on the fruit, and the tannins are wrapped in mellowness. The crispy acidity stays, from the beginning until the end, paired with a spicy smell of white pepper. Now it’s time to eat! The wine gets hungry. I put a whole salmon in the oven, marinated with black olives and spices, together with roughly chopped squash, oregano, coriander and garlic… Delicious!
Later in the evening, the
wine has gained power and fullness, especially on the finish. I like this, because this one of the reasons why I love to drink Rasteau. Its bouquet is full of sunshine, olives, rosemary and lemon peel.

A glass of summer in the middle of winter.

Seventh „Coup de Cœur“ fort he leading cuvée of the estate. As a “spiritual leader” of the Minervois, Pierre Cros belongs to those wine grower artists, that have found the Holy Grail in their vineyards and share their life’s work with us, by honouring our tables with their Devine brewage.

This 2009 provides aromas of black currant, vanilla, blackberry, pepper and cinnamon of exceptional intensity. Smooth and full-bodied, even sensual on the palate, this wine evolves towards an apotheosis of a nearly endless final.

Somebody may ask, which is the best moment to drink our wines. Being able to age for long years, one may be tempted to leave them in the cellar, being afraid to open them too early. Recent tasting of the wines we’ve bottled earlier this year offers a good occasion for us to present our point of view.

Since many years we multiply our efforts to enhance the “drinkability” of our wines as “young ones”. For us, organic farming, grape ripeness and gentle extraction during vinification are the main factors to achieve this. Of course there is a difference in taste and odour between a young wine and one that has been ripening for 10 years in a bottle. But to enjoy one or the other finally depends on our palate and preference.

But let’s start at the beginning, with our Cuvée Héritage 2010. We recommend tasting this wine within the next 5 years. Delicate but showing quite some character, it belongs to those we won’t hesitate to open, whenever we feel for a good glass of red: Barbeque, Pizza, Coq au Vin, during the week or in the weekend, with family or friends… A very flexible and social wine, that suits to many occasions.

Coming to the Château du Cèdre 2009, the nose gains complexity, luscious tannins arrive on the palate, and it all becomes a little more serious. Even more if you consider that this cuvee made from Tannat, Merlot and quite an amount of Malbec will easily age up to ten years in your cellar. In its youth, one will particularly appreciate its powerful scent full of fruit and freshness, while spices, woody smells and smooth tannins will reward our patience. Young and slightly chilled, it perfectly matches to a grilled steak, after a certain time of ageing, it enhances our appetite for an autumn dish with fresh mushrooms and game.

The cuvee Le Cèdre probably is our most glamorous wine. Pure Malbec, aged for many months in wood, it shows great elegance on every level and an affectation for special occasions: Birthdays, weddings, New Years Eve, but also on the occasion of a sophisticated dinner with very old friends. Every one of us as his own definition of an opportunity that demands a particular bottle of wine.

The GC loves slowness. Its an effigy of its terroir and fully presents the flavourful power of the Malbec grape. It opens up after three to four years of ripening in barrels and bottles, revealing its complexity of taste and odour over the years. A wine you should listen to, as even we don’t know the fragrances it will reveal to seduce you within the next 15 to 20 years.

You see, there are many reasons and occasions to open a bottle of Cahors wine. So do not hesitate, you will certainly enjoy the experience.