2022 Château du Cèdre Cahors ‘Cèdre Heritage’

100% certified organic Malbec from 25-30 year old vines. Numerous passes are made in the vineyard to ensure the perfect health, quality, and ripeness of the grapes, and all the work is carried by hand. 70% of the grapes for Heritage are from the limestone plateau (the causses), and 30% are richer and denser fruit from the iron-rich gravelly terraces of the Lot River valley. Hand harvested, then sorted in the vineyards, the grapes are macerated for three weeks, with daily punching down at the beginning of co-fermentation. 20% of the wine (the richest selections) aged 16 to 18 months in two year-old French oak barrels. 13% alcohol. 

A visually striking, inky-black wine that entices with its complex bouquet of ripe plums, cherries, and white pepper. On the palate, it reveals a medley of blueberry and passion fruit flavors, supported by a spicy backbone and savory notes. This exceptional wine rivals the best Argentinian Malbecs and is perfect for pairing with robust meat dishes.

Brothers Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe bring a welcome refinement to the wines of picturesque Cahors, located about an hour and a half east of Bordeaux. The Verhaeghe vineyards were founded in the 1950s by Léon Verhaeghe, who had moved to the Lot region from his native Belgium a few years previously. His son Charles began making wines at Château du Cèdre in the 1970s and was a pioneer in that he planted vines on the poor stony soils of the Cahors appellation, at a time when most wines were mass produced. Since 1988, third-generation Pascal and Jean-Marc have continued in the same vein, perfecting the approach with their meticulous work in the vineyard and the cellar. In 2000, the use of herbicides and chemicals was banned, and the estate was certified organic in 2012. Cahors wines are made predominantly from Malbec and are known for being powerful, rich, and dark. Pascal and Jean-Marc build on these terroir-driven qualities to produce highly polished and remarkably balanced wines, utilizing long aging periods in oak barrels and 57HL casks. These wines are quite approachable when young and also age exceptionally well.

Their meticulous approach and time-honored tradition produces wines that are focused and concentrated, long and elegant, truly capturing the beautiful Lot terroir. Today, the fourth generation, Pascal’s sons Jules and Robin, have joined the family estate, bringing a new momentum for the future.