The 2009 Cedre Heritage Malbec sourced from Chateau du Cedre Estate vineyards in the Cahors AOC in Southwest France. Chateau du Cedre considers this to be a “brand” wine and not a Chateau Estate wine, meaning it was probably produced especially for markets outside of France. Cahors is the home of the Malbec grape, they have been growing grapes in Cahors for over 2,000 years. Argentina is currently the leading proponent of Malbec wine (it has been grown in Argentina for 150 years) and the Malbec grapes grown in Argentina are not the same variety as the Malbec vines grown in Cahors, it is possible that the Argentinean Malbec vines came from a strain of Malbec vines that were exterminated during one of Cahors phylloxera infestations. The Argentinean Malbec is softer and less tannic than the Cahors Malbec grapes. For years, Cahors Malbec (known as the Black Wine of Cahors) was a huge, tannic wine, it blackened your teeth and put hair on your chest when you drank it, but since the success of Argentinean Malbec, the Cahors winemakers have found a way to tame the Malbec grape and offer a more modern wine. This Malbec was aged for 18 months, 80% in tanks and 20% in 2nd use French oak barrels. The alcohol contents 13.5%.
The color is deep, dark purple with a cherry halo. The nose is sour cherry, vanilla, gingerbread spice and Sambuca. This Malbec starts off with a velvety mouthfeel that soon transitions to rich juicy fresh fruit and spice. It starts with blackberry, soft and smooth, then tart cranberry and curry spice kick in. The mid palate adds strawberries in cream, extracted licorice, raisin spice and plum. The tannins are well integrated into the body of the wine. The finish is fairly vibrant and long.
This is a Malbec with character, tons of flavor and textures, sweet, tart, astringent, the Cedre Heritage Malbec does not hold back anything. I found the Cedre Heritage at an “end of bin” sale selling for $7.99 (Chicagoland Binny’s), it sells on the web for anywhere between $13 and $20. A fan of Argentinean Malbec should try the Cedre Heritage to experience the differences, there is definitely more of some things and less of others, but with many similarities. The Cedre Heritage Malbec is a very good wine.
