Malbec’s global journey started in Cahors, north of Toulouse and east of Bordeaux (where the once-common grape remains permitted). Dubbed the ‘black wine of Cahors’, the dark, tannic red wine traditionally produced by this thick-skinned grape was all the rage with 12th-century English nobility when Eleanor of Aquitane married Henry II. It almost disappeared post-phylloxera and after the severe winter of 1956, when vines were replaced by surer bets.
After thriving in Argentina, Malbec has been making a comeback in France. Modern pioneers in Cahors (and the Loire, as with Herve Villemade’s layered ‘Pivoine’, €30, lecaveau.ie) forefront purity of fruit through cool fermentation and experimental ageing.
Did you know?
Late 19th-century European vineyards were destroyed by the arrival from America of phylloxera, a tiny aphid that ravaged European vine roots. The solution? Plant American vines as root stock and graft European vines to these.
Refined expression
Chateau de Haute-Serre Lucter Malbec
Chateau de Haute-Serre Lucter Malbec 2022, Cahors, 13pc, €25.90
Fourth-generation winemaker Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux was named the world’s best Malbec winemaker by The Drinks Business in 2024, and his expertise shows in this elegant expression, with red summer fruits giving lift to its soft, plump body. Kimmeridgean clay limestone soils in high-altitude vineyards help his refined approach to the grape, which he ferments at carefully controlled temperatures and ages in a mix of stainless steel vats, large oak barrels and amphorae, as with his luscious, polished ‘Georges’ Malbec (€42). The Wine Grove (Castlebar), Fallon & Byrne, Cooper’s Bottleshops, The Corkscrew
Chillable quaffer
Combel-la-Serre Le Pur Fruit du Causse Malbec
Combel-la-Serre Le Pur Fruit du Causse Malbec, Cahors, 12.5pc, €20
Juicy and charming with pure primary fruits (plum, blackcurrant), light silky tannins (cement vat ageing) and ample freshness making it moreish. Organic. Fallon & Byrne, Pinto Wine, 64 Wine, Jus de Vine, thenudewineco.ie
Food-friendly
Château Les Croisille Croizillon Malbec 2022
Château Les Croisille Croizillon Malbec 2022, Cahors, 12pc, €16.99
An unoaked, organic Malbec with peppery plum and blackberry aromas, dry and medium-bodied with rustic tannins that suit lamb or other red meats. From €19.99 until April 26. O’Briens Wines; obrienswine.ie
Dining and Cooking