Magnum of Château de Haute-Serre Cahors | 2000

This week, we hosted Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux, one of Malbec’s most observant voices and a Cahors native (Cahors-ian?) I asked him, “How do you get home?” His answer involved London or Paris, another flight to Toulouse, then an hour’s drive north. Malbec’s spiritual home takes commitment, and I was shocked to learn that about 500 Americans visited his estate, Château de Haute-Serre, last year.

Like himself, Bertrand’s wines are humble and very sure of where they’re from. Cahors can often be dusty, chewy, & rustic, but Haute-Serre’s prime watchtower on a 300-meter clay-limestone plateau gives something beautifully different. Malbec, silk supreme. The surprise & delight wine of the evening was this 2000, poured from magnum. Bertrand admitted he hadn’t tasted it in a few years, and he was equally impressed, as was I, with its spark. Malbec leads, complemented by small amounts of Merlot, then Tannat. It drank like a claret from the 1980s era with its melty red fruits, cold stone tang, cowboy leather, and a grandfather’s pipe. The fruit was still very much in charge, leading the tertiary along the way; 26 years-old and plenty to offer: maturity, history, and gut loads of terroir swagger. A library big bottle, for this price? It’s a connecting flight and car ride, totally worth it. ~Allegra Angelo

10 magnums available.