Red wines from South West France

Estate-bottled Cahors, deeply-hued and aromatic with distinct notes of black fruit, pepper and liquorice. Savoury and dark, but with persistent freshness too - a real food wine, with steak or roast lamb for instance. A dash of Merlot lends softness and enhances the charm of this wine when young.

Cahors is a region in SW France that specialises in fairly tannic, dark reds made from Malbec.
Its wines have been famous for centuries for their inky 'black' color, and were once used to bolster more anaemic wines from Bordeaux. This calling card is sometimes emphasized by wineries, where heat is used to extract maximum amounts of pigment from the Malbec grapes.

Malbec must constitute at least 70% of the blend, while the balance is split some way between Merlot and Tannat (the former being favoured for softer styles and the latter for sturdier ones). Until recently, the obscure variety Jurançon Noir was also permitted in the blend. Cahors is unusual among the appellations of the SW in not allowing the use of either Cabernets Franc or Sauvignon.

Medium-bodied French Malbec, really juicy and fresh with mild tannins and attractive, gently spicy dark fruit flavours. You may find notes of leather and black olive too.
Though you can drink this on its own very easily, it works best—deliciously well—with casseroles, roasts and barbeques.

The wines of Cahors can be burly enough in general (not for nothing is one of the estate's specialities given the time-honoured title of 'the black wine') but this Esprit de Flore, Jean-Luc Baldes' fine, early-drinking example, is made entirely from young-vine fruit and so offers a soft, smooth and very approachable take on the style.

The latest vintage of this powerful, impressive wine is just in and, although it will age marvellously well, is ready to try now.

Intense black and red fruits on the nose are amplified by a hint of menthol and some liquorice notes. This delicious Malbec from the south west of France has soft, supple texture but good structure and length, with concentrated ripe tannins.

It's a beautifully balanced and rich wine, exemplifying the traditions of Cahors at their most attractive.
In its youth, this wine will match foie gras, charcuterie and simply cooked red meats, whereas an older bottle is perfect with truffles, roasts, game and cheeses, such as Comté or Cantal..

details coming soon

In the third century, Probus was the emperor who overturned an earlier edict and allowed winegrowers to replant vineyards in Quercy. This superior wine from one of the leading Cahors estates is named in his honour.

Full-bodied and velvety, with dense flavours of mulberry, leather and cedar. Grippy tannins, fresh acidity and a long, austere finish. Still very much in its youth.
Drink with game, roast beef, steak and mature cheese.

*PRESS*: Probus featured in Decanter magazine's 'Top 10 Cahors' (July 2012) - 'Aromas and flavours of cassis, flowers, balsamic vinegar. Rich and savoury, compelling sweetness and polished tannins. Drink 2012 - 2025.'

'Wines by Clos Triguedina ... are world class.' - Decanter, July 2012

Cahors is an appellation in south-west France that makes red wine from malbec (known here, oddly, as auxerrois), often blended with merlot or tannat. Local variety jurancon noir is no longer used. Malbec must make up at least 70% of the end wine. Within SW France, only Bergerac makes more wine.

Old-vine, limited-edition Cahors whose name dates from the time (i.e. the middle ages) where winemakers made "Black Wine" by heating a portion of the grapes to extract even more colour than in a usual fermentation.
In this case, Clos Triguedina feeds ripe, sometimes raisined, grapes into a furnace for heating, before proceeding on to usual vinification methods.

Aged for eighteen months in new Allier oak, The New Black Wine exudes captivating aromas of dried fruits, liquorice and stewed blackberry, while the dense, complex palate boasts fine-grained, polished tannins, fresh acidity, and gorgeous notes of mulberry, game, leather and walnut. Amazing stuff.

Drink now after decanting - try it with spicy duck dishes or even (Clos Triguedina says) chocolate-based desserts - or lay down for another decade!

Cahors is a region in SW France that specialises in fairly tannic, dark reds made from Malbec.
Its wines have been famous for centuries for their inky 'black' color, and were once used to bolster more anaemic wines from Bordeaux. This calling card is sometimes emphasized by wineries, where heat is used to extract maximum amounts of pigment from the Malbec grapes.

Malbec must constitute at least 70% of the blend, while the balance is split some way between Merlot and Tannat (the former being favoured for softer styles and the latter for sturdier ones). Until recently, the obscure variety Jurancon Noir was also permitted in the blend. Cahors is unusual among the appellations of the SW in not allowing the use of either Cabernets Franc or Sauvignon.