Wine Enthusiast, April 2011

Extract

“Pascal verhaeghe of Château du Cèdre is the other guru of Cahors. He and his brother, Jean-Marc, produce such iconic wines as Le Cèdre and GC, as well as even more innovative bottlings. His latest creation, a fortified wine made from Malbec, is a rich, sweet wine, close to vintage Port in style. The brothers also provide advice to other wineries and act as a distribution focus to cut costs for a group of vignerons. Part of the new generation that has taken over in Cahors, the Verhaeghes are driving the open approach of the region, which involves working with Argentina while promoting Cahors Malbec – the UIVC calls it “The Original Malbec”.

The Verhaeghes’ advice to Cahors winemakers : cut yields, encourage the vines to go deep for moisture in the hot summers, avoid chemicals and use open-top fermenters to more softly extract the naturally tannic Malbec.”

Tasted: Château du Cèdre, Le Cèdre 2007, Cahors

High toast aromas are filled out on the palate with rich, concentrated fruit and bitter chocolate flavours. This powerful, impressive wine is spicy and densely packed. At this stage, it feels hard edged, but that will fill out in the next 3-4 years as the wine broadens.