Now that fermentations are finished, the wines show intense fruit, fine texture and crispy acidity.
Pascal Verhaeghe, Château du Cèdre Cahors
Château du Cèdre 2011
Lots of black and red fruit, elderberry and spices. Sweet and delicate fruit on the palate, fantastic roundness. The tannins will be appreciated for their velvety texture.
Château du Cèdre, Le Cèdre 2011
Pure fruit in the nose, flashing aromas of blackberry and violet. On the palate you will especially notice its minerality, surrounded by mellowness. Juicy wine with great potential.
Château du Cèdre GC 2011
Nose of stunning complexity, dominated by floral aromas (honeysuckle and hints of violet) and spices (juniper). Both fleshy and refined, GC has the character of a great “terroir-wine”.
If the Gault & Millau described the GC 2008 as being a “magic” wine, 2009 should be considered as being “cosmic”. Let’s only spend few words on its colour, that’s as black as a Malbec from Cahors should be and go on to have a look at the bouquet…
Already rich and complex, full of red and black fruits, with violet and mint again, but also cedar wood, white pepper and cocoa beans. Both fresh and mellow, with silky tannins that overlay the entire palate, you will find the characteristic minerality of the GC, pairing with endless length. It will be the guest of honour at your table for many years to come.
Wine details
Area of production : AOP Cahors Soil and climate : The vines of Château du Cèdre root in two different types of soil: The terroirs, composed of stony clay and limestone, give straight wines with fine tannins, while more powerful and dense wines come from soils composed of clay, sand and a large quantity of pebbles. Grape varieties : 100% Malbec Type of winemaking : Grapes are hand picked and sorted. Harvest is fully destemmed. 40 days of fermentation and maceration in 500-litre oak vats, with regular punching down of the skin cap at the beginning of fermentation for extraction of colour and tannins. Type of ageing: Malolactic fermentation is followed by 24 months of ripening in the same oak vats. Bottled without filtering.
Château du Cèdre amongst France’s Top 10 Names for Value - Decanter February 2012
« It’s the appellation’s gold standard, year after year. »
Cahors was almost a ghost wine, trembling on the edge of extinction, as the 1960s dawned. It’s now producing such impressive reds that investors are sniffing the land agents’ books, encouraged by the fact that some of the greatest terroirs in the region are still unplanted.
Prominent among the reference bottles, I suspect, are those of Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe at Château du Cèdre, and those of other properties (such as Haut-Monplaisir and les Croisille) for whom Pascal consults.
Best value is probably Le Château du Cèdre (formerly “Prestige”: my half-bottles of the 2000 vintage, bought in 2003 for £5,35 each, are still going strong), but his purest and noblest wine is Le Cèdre: a pure-Malbec selection. It’s the appellation’s gold standard, year after year.
One to try: Château du Cèdre, Le Cèdre, Cahors 2007 **** 17,5/20
Scents of black plum, bay leaf, summer-evening tree bark and dry forest floor. On the palate, it’s deep, spicy, warm and accessible, despite its great depth and power. The black fruits pack out the wine’s core, rippling with meaty flesh, but there’s plenty of fragrant tobacco and spice to add extra enchantment. Drink: 2012 – 2028.
By Andrew Jefford
Tasting of Château du Cèdre 2009 - Malbec from Cahors
This is Malbec-territory: Dark and opaque, its intense bouquet is full of black fruit, smoke, chocolate and spices.
Dense and soft, wild but homey, you will love to crunch the crispy tannins, that tickle your palate, before taking a rest at the bottom of the glass, amongst aromas of cinnamon, vanilla and fresh earth.
Roasted duck is still one of my favorites to accompany young Malbec wines from Cahors. That’s probably what I will have for Malbec Day on April 17th.
… thus the Gault & Millau on our great Malbec cuvee from 2008. After a good year in the vineyards, two years of ageing in barrels and several months of ripening in bottles, we present the result of our efforts: A seducing “black” wine, synthesizing power and elegance, structure and subtility with fruit and spices.
The Sommelier International described the wine as very promising, with an ageing potential of 10 to 20 years.
Although the Malbec wines from Cahors are well known for their longevity, we are striving for the wines of the Chateau du Cedre to be ready for drinking on shorter terms.
And the 2008 as a good example: Presently fruity, rich and mineral, it will surprise by its complexity and finesse within few years; If you are able to wait that long…
Climate changes in the vineyards of Cahors? – Interview with Pascal Verhaeghe
Since a couple of years, climate seems to change. What about the climate in Cahors? Pascal Verhaeghe :Actually, we have noticed some change during the last 10 years. There is more wind and periods of heat and drought are more frequent.
More wind and more heat, is that rather good or bad for viticulture? PV : It depends. The wind rapidly dries the wines after rainfall. This lowers the risk of fungal infection of the plants and the grapes. Concerning drought and heat, you must help the vines to adapt to these particular conditions.
How to help them? PV : Compost supply increases the ability of soils to retain water. But that’s not all. You also have to impel the vines to root deeper into the soil.
Vignes Chateau du Cedre Cahors
How can you impel vines to root deeper? PV : By working the soils. Since years we earth up the soil around the vines in autumn. This earth is pushed back in spring with a special plough, which also cuts roots that grow close to the surface. New roots are growing downwards, deeper into the ground, and you may gain 20 to 30 centimetres of root depth every year.
Which is the effect on the ripening of the grapes? PV : First off all, we keep it regular, despite climatic hazards. In any case you should avoid disruption of the ripening process during periods of heat. The vines should not suffer and keep its foliage in good shape. Regular water supply is the key to this. In addition, we keep vegetation relatively low, to slow down accumulation of sugar in the grapes and preserve their acidity. This is a little risky, as we have to preserve a good ratio between foliage and fruit for successful ripening.
Do you recover all these efforts in your wines? PV : Yes we do. First of all regarding the sugar/acidity ratio. Alcohol contents are relatively low, between 13 and 13,5% by vol. and we are delighted about the freshness that remains in our wines. Tannin structures have become more delicate, without loosing power and depth. That’s what great wines live upon: Alcohol for body and power, acidity to make them straight and give length, tannins for structure and longevity.
Thank you Pascal
Le Cèdre Cahors - First impressions of the 2011 vintage
After proliferous rainfall in March and April, the Weather was predominantly dry in May and June. Flourishing (one of the most important periods during the year of the vigneron) passed under a brilliantly blue sky in June, without meteorological perturbances. This period was followed by a rather fresh climate and scattered showers in July, and a real summer August you may dream of.
Château du Cèdre - Grands vins de Cahors
Pascal goûte les graines de Malbec avant les vendanges
The vines
They did not suffer, neither from the rainfalls at springtime, nor from drought in summer. Being in advance of the normal rhythm of vegetational growth, the plants took advantage as well from the well fed deeper groundwater, as from abundant sunshine, with the result of a fine green foliage. Even at the end of August, the grapes were still surrounded by dark green leaves.
Harvest
Harvest started on august 31st with our Viognier. The grapes were perfectly healthy and very tasty. The yield amounted to about 30 hl/ha, with a total alcohol of 13%vol and a fresh, crispy acidity. Thus, we expect a perfect balance for this white wine. The first Malbecs were harvested on September 12th under a clear blue sky. A premature year, characterized by uniform ripeness in all our vineyards. The last grapes arrived in the cellar on September 22nd, to remain on skins for several weeks, followed by ripening in barrels during months.
Thus, you may take patience before you will be able to taste this promising year. Fortunately, we still have wines from 2008 and the following years available, to make the time of waiting appear short...
Le Cèdre Malbec Vintage, or if Pascal and Jean-Marc dream of sweets…
… the result will be an new wine. After 10 years of reasoning, the Château du Cèdre MALBEC VINTAGE was born.
As they are convinced friends of great Ports, their urge to make a sweet Malbec grew steadily during the last years. Finally their wish was put into reality in 2010.
Selecting grapes from three different vineyards by following their sensory profile – fruity-fragrant, spicy and mineralic – they were separately processed. The point of interrupting this fermentation by adding high percentage alcohol, again was determined by tasting. Subsequently, the wines were blended and aged in large barrels of 500 litres.
The result is a sweet wine with less than 100 gr/L of sugar and about 16%vol of alcohol, presenting full taste, underlined by the acidity of fresh fruits. Ideal to savour with chocolate, desserts, blue cheese, or with fine Belgian pralines among good friends on a chilly day around the fireplace.
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