2003 Chateau Lagrezette Malbec (Cahors)

2003 Chateau Lagrezette Malbec (Cahors) – They have been growing Malbec in France since Roman times but most people think about Argentina when Malbec is mentioned. You should not pass up the opportunity to try a Malbec from Cahors. We did a tasting of Cahors a few months ago and found them to be very nice wines and an interesting change from Argentinian Malbec. As we noted in that article there are three terraces or levels the Cahors are grown on, each with their own unique characteristics. Chateau Lagrezette has been around over 500 years and has vineyards on the second and third terraces consisting of Malbec, Merlot and Tannat. This vintage, however, is made from 100% Malbec.

The color was a wonderfully very dark ruby color as you would expect from Cahors. There was dark fruit and smoke in the nose. Flavors were smoke, rubber tire, spice and dark ripe fruit. Moderate well integrated tannins, good acidity and a long finish. We had this wine with a bean casserole with Italian sausage and they paired very well together. I plan on getting more of this wine and it should cellar well for several more years.

Update: We tasted this wine again in December 2012. Ripe dark fruit is evident on the nose. Complex dark fruit flavors with hints of cedar accompany grippy, well-integrated tannins. The finish is long with flavor and tannins. This medium body wine stood up well to a spicy Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya. The flavors have changed considerably and it is drinking very well. We have several more bottles of this wine and look forward to tasting it next year.