Château du Cayrou
Cahors Malbec Merlot
Cahors, Southwest France, France
Organic vineyards planted in the 1970’s. Dry and earthy w/ some cassis fruit. Love the value here.
Organic vineyards planted in the 1970’s. Dry and earthy w/ some cassis fruit. Love the value here.
Feb 25th, 2021
A LOT more austere than I expected, tastes almost young. Nose took time to develop, even with lots of air. I'm a little suspicious about how this bottle was stored. There's almost zero penetration of the cork suggesting lots of upright storage? The ulage was normal-seeming, just a small visible gap beneath the foil. What nose there is has hints of mint, cedar and something candied, like dates. On the palate, surprisingly moderate intensity (12.5% pre-fruit-bomb era), tannic structure still very evident at 24 years, but considerably softened down to fine grain. Plummy, black cherry flavored, with that confected undercurrent. Finishes long and tannic. Cut through very rich lamb shank stewed in red wine, caramelized onions, shallots, and rosemary. Still developing with dark chocolate dessert.
A LOT more austere than I expected, tastes almost young. Nose took time to develop, even with lots of air. I'm a little suspicious about how this bottle was stored. There's almost zero penetration of the cork suggesting lots of upright storage? The ulage was normal-seeming, just a small visible gap beneath the foil. What nose there is has hints of mint, cedar and something candied, like dates. On the palate, surprisingly moderate intensity (12.5% pre-fruit-bomb era), tannic structure still very evident at 24 years, but considerably softened down to fine grain. Plummy, black cherry flavored, with that confected undercurrent. Finishes long and tannic. Cut through very rich lamb shank stewed in red wine, caramelized onions, shallots, and rosemary. Still developing with dark chocolate dessert.
3 people found it helpfulNov 9th, 2014
This 2012 bottling from cahors is a very nice wine, young and fairly tight with some nice acidity and minerality. Some nice darker fruit flavors peek through along with some earthy tones. Thankfully not too sweet with a lower alcohol content and a nice dryer finish. Could use a little more skin contact for some more tannin structure. Sadly a lot of the French winemakers have been making their wines in a softer fruitier more modern accessible style( not all wines needed to be turned into fruity wines). And are losing the sense and tast of Terroir that French wines were famous for. Overall still a very nice example of a Cahors Malbec blend that will pair well with some fairly rich food, mine went well with steak and spicy garlic sweet potato. I do not decant wines as I like them a little rougher, not too fruity or softened up. Decant if you want to soften the tannins and bring out a little more of the fruit flavors either way it's an enjoyable wine.
This 2012 bottling from cahors is a very nice wine, young and fairly tight with some nice acidity and minerality. Some nice darker fruit flavors peek through along with some earthy tones. Thankfully not too sweet with a lower alcohol content and a nice dryer finish. Could use a little more skin contact for some more tannin structure. Sadly a lot of the French winemakers have been making their wines in a softer fruitier more modern accessible style( not all wines needed to be turned into fruity wines). And are losing the sense and tast of Terroir that French wines were famous for. Overall still a very nice example of a Cahors Malbec blend that will pair well with some fairly rich food, mine went well with steak and spicy garlic sweet potato. I do not decant wines as I like them a little rougher, not too fruity or softened up. Decant if you want to soften the tannins and bring out a little more of the fruit flavors either way it's an enjoyable wine.
2 people found it helpfulJun 20th, 2017
Dark almost purple. Dark fruit with a whiff of camphor on the nose. Palate of dark cherry, plum, earth and iron. Harsh tannins dominate the finish and obscure the fruit. Interesting but short of pleasant. Alcohol 12.5%. Traditional pairing with duck confit.
Dark almost purple. Dark fruit with a whiff of camphor on the nose. Palate of dark cherry, plum, earth and iron. Harsh tannins dominate the finish and obscure the fruit. Interesting but short of pleasant. Alcohol 12.5%. Traditional pairing with duck confit.
2 people found it helpfulJun 1st, 2016
Crushable Cahors. Really pretty and juicy.
Crushable Cahors. Really pretty and juicy.
Apr 21st, 2016
Hazy dark purple. Earthy dark red fruit, mild menthol on the nose and palate. High tannin and medium alcohol. Definitely a food wine.
Hazy dark purple. Earthy dark red fruit, mild menthol on the nose and palate. High tannin and medium alcohol. Definitely a food wine.
Aug 23rd, 2015
Enjoyed this lovely wine with smoked duck breast & pineapple chutney. Decanted 2 hours before.
Enjoyed this lovely wine with smoked duck breast & pineapple chutney. Decanted 2 hours before.
Jan 30th, 2015