International Malbec Days - conclusions
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 12:23 pmI found the International Malbec Days both highly enjoyable and instructive. The organization was excellent, the conference facilities (with translation facilities from Spanish into French) were good, the setting for the tastings on the historic Valentré bridge was absolutely superb and the 2005 Cahors wines were more approachable than I expected. Nature co-operated by providing two absolutely radiant days out of three.
Only time will tell whether the event was a success in the light of my analysis of its objectives. These are easy to discern from a Cahors perspective, namely
- to promote the reality and image of Cahors as a “great” wine region
- to climb commercially on the back of the “Malbec” brand so successfully developed by the Argentinians
- to galvanize Cahors producers and marketeers by exposing the potential and the plans for improving quality and marketing
- to share, yes, Agentinian know-how and clones
- to develop awareness of Cahors amongst wine drinkers (limited at this event to those who know French).
It is less easy to see the objectives of the Argentinian contingent. They are clearly the senior partners at the beginning of the 21st century with 24,000 hectares of Malbec versus 4,500 in Cahors and with a well developed market position, particularly in English speaking countries. I guess that they are attracted by the historical prestige of Cahors, the birthplace of Malbec, and think that any projection of Malbec’s image will be good for them.
I have come away with the following impressions.
1) Malbec is a variety with outstanding properties for colour, stability and balance.
2) Cahors has varied terroirs, some with potential for supple fruity wines, others for more complex and austere wines with backbone and a few for really great wines with rich fruit, velvety tannins and savoury acidity. (Also some superb high altitude terroirs in Mendoza and more ordinary ones lower down.)
3) The full potential is at present only being sporadically realized in Cahors due to frequently inadequate husbandry and wine-making, e.g. too large berries (Michel Bettane’s point). Improvement on this is essential to achieve a Cahors break-through.
4) I tasted a handful of very fine wines, e.g. GC and Le Cèdre from Château de Cèdre, Expression from Château Lamartine and Gran Reserva from Fabre & Montmayou, which should serve as examples to emulate, and quite a few wines enjoyable to drink from all the exhibiting regions.
5) Cahors wines tend to be Atlantic in character with savoury acidity and marked tannins suitable for North-Western European food whilst Argentinian Malbec is more Southern with sweeter fruit and thicker textures, more suitable for aromatic and fusion food.
6) The sweeter, thicker character of Argentian Malbec is more likely to appeal to mass markets, particularly in English speaking countries.
7) Cahors should not try to ape Argentinian Malbec for the mass markets; it has neither the right climate nor the right cost structure for that. It should target a more classy and connoisseur market by improving overall quality within its existing character.
8) For my taste, Argentinian Malbec is by far the best of the New World’s red varietal brands (e.g. much more interesting than Shiraz) but I sense some homogenization and dumbing down. (An Argentinian nurseryman speaker dismayed me by talking of research for massal selections and clones to secure more uniform taste.) There is a danger here that the “Malbec” image may go the same way as that of “Chardonnay” and “Merlot”.
9) The Cahors marketing emphasis on “Malbec” and on “black” runs risks in particular
-of disappointing consumers attuned to the Argentinian taste by greater acidity and leaner tannins and textures,
-of not always living up to the “black” colour and body expectations; a lot of the more supple and fruity Cahors, of which some of the 2005s were delicious, do not have a particularly deep colour or body.
I wish Malbec well and will certainly be talking up and drinking more from Cahors, Touraine and Argentina than in the past.
Only time will tell whether the event was a success in the light of my analysis of its objectives. These are easy to discern from a Cahors perspective, namely
- to promote the reality and image of Cahors as a “great” wine region
- to climb commercially on the back of the “Malbec” brand so successfully developed by the Argentinians
- to galvanize Cahors producers and marketeers by exposing the potential and the plans for improving quality and marketing
- to share, yes, Agentinian know-how and clones
- to develop awareness of Cahors amongst wine drinkers (limited at this event to those who know French).
It is less easy to see the objectives of the Argentinian contingent. They are clearly the senior partners at the beginning of the 21st century with 24,000 hectares of Malbec versus 4,500 in Cahors and with a well developed market position, particularly in English speaking countries. I guess that they are attracted by the historical prestige of Cahors, the birthplace of Malbec, and think that any projection of Malbec’s image will be good for them.
I have come away with the following impressions.
1) Malbec is a variety with outstanding properties for colour, stability and balance.
2) Cahors has varied terroirs, some with potential for supple fruity wines, others for more complex and austere wines with backbone and a few for really great wines with rich fruit, velvety tannins and savoury acidity. (Also some superb high altitude terroirs in Mendoza and more ordinary ones lower down.)
3) The full potential is at present only being sporadically realized in Cahors due to frequently inadequate husbandry and wine-making, e.g. too large berries (Michel Bettane’s point). Improvement on this is essential to achieve a Cahors break-through.
4) I tasted a handful of very fine wines, e.g. GC and Le Cèdre from Château de Cèdre, Expression from Château Lamartine and Gran Reserva from Fabre & Montmayou, which should serve as examples to emulate, and quite a few wines enjoyable to drink from all the exhibiting regions.
5) Cahors wines tend to be Atlantic in character with savoury acidity and marked tannins suitable for North-Western European food whilst Argentinian Malbec is more Southern with sweeter fruit and thicker textures, more suitable for aromatic and fusion food.
6) The sweeter, thicker character of Argentian Malbec is more likely to appeal to mass markets, particularly in English speaking countries.
7) Cahors should not try to ape Argentinian Malbec for the mass markets; it has neither the right climate nor the right cost structure for that. It should target a more classy and connoisseur market by improving overall quality within its existing character.
8) For my taste, Argentinian Malbec is by far the best of the New World’s red varietal brands (e.g. much more interesting than Shiraz) but I sense some homogenization and dumbing down. (An Argentinian nurseryman speaker dismayed me by talking of research for massal selections and clones to secure more uniform taste.) There is a danger here that the “Malbec” image may go the same way as that of “Chardonnay” and “Merlot”.
9) The Cahors marketing emphasis on “Malbec” and on “black” runs risks in particular
-of disappointing consumers attuned to the Argentinian taste by greater acidity and leaner tannins and textures,
-of not always living up to the “black” colour and body expectations; a lot of the more supple and fruity Cahors, of which some of the 2005s were delicious, do not have a particularly deep colour or body.
I wish Malbec well and will certainly be talking up and drinking more from Cahors, Touraine and Argentina than in the past.
). I did not notice any other "foreigners". The Verona firm Masi was a no-show with its Corbec; I'm not sure whether that was Italian or Argentinian sourced.