Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 60

FOCUS:
SOUTHWEST FRANCE
Our blind panels tasted 113 new-release wines from Southwest France for this issue. Our
critic for Southwest France, Tara Q. Thomas, rated 16 as exceptional (90+) and 15 as
Best Buys. Find a complete list of wines tasted and all reviews at wineandspiritsmagazine.com.

W HI T E
COTES DE GASCOGNE
273100

88 | Domaine Laballe

$14

2018 Côtes de Gascogne Terres Basses
(Best Buy) ^ This is clean and elegant, a lemony blend of colombard, gros manseng and
ugni blanc that lasts with freshness. § Soilair
Selection, NY
273273

88 | Domaine Laguille

$10

2018 Côtes de Gascogne Gros Manseng
(Best Buy) ^ Ripe, spicy apple flavors meet
tangy, limey acidity, balanced in a clean and
pretty white. Serve it chilled with fresh goat
cheeses or seafood in a cream sauce. § Montaigne Imports, San Francisco, CA

PA C H E R E N C D U V I C - B I L H
273214

91 | Vignobles Brumont

$50

2014 Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec Château
Montus ^ This combines the honeyed citrus
notes of superripe petit courbu with the
peachy richness of petit manseng. Add in the
spice of oak and the nutty savor of age and
it all comes together in a fascinating white
wine. It's supple, leesy and rich, with sandalwood scents and a salty edge that brings
Sherry to mind; it's also acidic enough to
finish cleanly. Cheese would make an easy
accompaniment, or look to the Atlantic coast
and grilled sardines. § Kindred Vines Import
Co., Troy, MI

SAINT MONT
273251

92 | Plaimont

$29

2016 Saint Mont Le Faîte ^ A region in the
Gers department just north of Madiran,
Saint Mont became an AOC in 2011, largely
due to the efforts of this cooperative, which
makes the majority of the region's wines. Le
Faîte is Plaimont's flagship cuvée, bottled
with a wooden label attached by a wax seal
in a nod to an old tradition. A blend of gros
manseng, petit courbu and arrufiac, it's a
rich, toasty white, with barrel tones adding
depth and texture to the wine's golden fruit
60

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2019

flavors. At the same time, it holds plenty of
acidity, feeling vibrant and balanced. Tasting
panelist Jeff Harding of NYC's Waverly Inn
suggested looking across France's border to
Spain for a food match, calling out paella as
one delicious possibility. § White Wine Situation, Los Angeles, CA
273248

92 | Plaimont

$13

2017 Saint Mont Témoignage (Best Buy) ^
Succulent fruit and salty, nutty tones meet in
this rich white, a blend of gros manseng, petit
courbu and arrufiac. It's sweetly ripe but not
at all cloying, the fruit tightened up by vivacious acidity. Youthful and open, it's inviting
now, a sunny white for rich fish dishes. § White
Wine Situation, Los Angeles, CA

R OSE
PA Y S D ' O C
273285

86 | Mont Gravet

2018 Pays d'Oc Rosé (Best Buy) ^ Made from
cinsault, this is a grassy, herbal rosé with
refreshingly tart berry flavor. It's simple and
clean, to chill for parties. § Winesellers, Niles, IL

RE D
CAHORS
273307

93 | Château du Cèdre

$23

2015 Cahors ^ Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaeghe turned out an exceptional 2015 Cahors.
A blend of malbec with five percent each
merlot and tannat from their organically
farmed vineyards, the wine aged in a mix
of new and used oak barrels for 22 months.
Now it's supple and elegant, the tannins firm
but silky, creating a complex, tight weave
with the wine's earthy blackberry fruit. It
feels cool and confident, approachable now
but set to last another decade in the cellar. §
Martine's Wines, Novato, CA
272875

93 | Jean-Luc Baldès

$54

2013 Cahors Clos Triguedina Les Galets
Malbec ^ Jean-Luc Baldès has run this estate
since 1976, building it into one of the region's

largest, at 173 acres. Les Galets is part of a
trio of single-vineyard wines, this one from
a parcel of soil rich in clay, limestone and
iron. It's dense and velvety, the ripe tannins
saturated with cherry flavor, the 12 months
it spent in oak barrels contributing a warm
spice. For all its richness, this feels elegant,
the flavors savory, fresh and long. § Vineyard
Brands, Birmingham, AL
272743

92 | Château de Mercuès

$27

92 | Jean-Luc Baldès

$72

90 | Vignobles Pelvillain

$26

90 | Château de Gaudou

$19

2015 Cahors Grand Vin Malbec ^ Georges
Vigouroux, who died in February 2019, was
instrumental in reviving Cahors, restoring
estates such as this one, which he relaunched
in 1987. This cuvée, a selection of parcels
from the high-density vineyards he planted
around the château, captures Vigouroux's
style in its sleek elegance. It's sweetly ripe yet
not at all heavy, with a sour-cherry brightness
to the fruit, while the oak acts like a scaffolding, supportive but not smothering. It would
be delicious now with duck roasted with cherries. § Louis Glunz Wines, Lincolnshire, IL
272870
2008 Cahors Clos Triguedina Probus Malbec ^ Probus was the first 100-percent malbec
Jean-Luc Baldès produced in 1976; it's now
a barrel selection. That oak is discernable in
the rich vanillin scents of this wine, playing
up the opulence of the mature fruit flavors.
It tastes of caramel and plum preserves, spice
and forest floor, the still-firm tannins giving
it shape and energy. Ready now, this deserves
decanting and something rich to match, like
roast duck followed by a cheese course. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
273270
2014 Cahors Château de Cénac Cuvée
Prestige Malbec ^ Didier Pelvillain runs three
estates in Cahors, each on a different terroir.
Cénac sits on the causse, a limestone plateau
that rises 800 feet above the Lot river. The
soil and the breezy conditions allow for some
of the region's most graceful, elegant Cahors,
like this one, a supple, plummy malbec with
brisk energy. It remains bright and fresh for
days after opening, the firm structure suggesting that it will also age well in bottle. § Continent Wines, Clarkston, MI
272775
2015 Cahors Renaissance Malbec (Best
Buy) ^ Fabrice Durou takes a modern
approach to Cahors with Renaissance, using
cold maceration and an extended stay in barriques to create a sleek, juicy wine. It's floral
and smoky, with a mocha richness to its generous blackberry fruit. Approachable now, it

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Wine & Spirits - October 2019

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