2022 Jouves & Croisille, Malbec de Soif, Cahors, France.
Bright, dark purple/garnet and juicy Jouves & Croisille Malbec de Soif, that was fermented and aged in concrete vats, shows off tobacco laced blueberry, plum, cherry and currant fruits that come across in style of a Cru Beaujolais with supple, quaffable roundness of texture, along with a mix of crunchy mineral, spices, coco, dark florals, subtle leather notes and anise. Winemaker Fabien Jouves over the last decade has elevated the image of Cahors with a series of unique Malbec bottlings that have brought attention to this ancient region. Cahors, a former Roman town, was a center of commerce during the Middle Ages, which is seen as a remote and hard edged country wine region, though as mentioned, actually has highly entertaining and serious (wine) history, the area dates back to Celtic times when it was known as Divona, but really became famous during Roman times, in fact it was one of the most import wine producing treasures of their empire. Cahors supplied the Roman armies with dark and powerful black wines, which legend has it aided in their conquest and was a reward for their many victories! Little known and remembered, is that it was the shipping of these Cahors wines, that made Bordeaux a thriving port and have have been instrumental in giving the locals there the idea of commercial wine production of their own, cutting out the long distance hauling of barrels overland to Bordeaux. Before Argentina’s rise and use of the Malbec grape, Cahors was synonyms with this varietal, which can also be known as Côt, and it is good to be reminded of that and see such a fun array of offerings from this historic region.
The new Jouves & Croisille label is the creation of longtime friends Fabien Jouves, Germain Croisille and his brother Simon, who have 30 hectares of all biodynamically farmed Malbec that is a cool side project for the talented Jouves. Fabian Jouves, who as mentioned in my prior reviews, is redefining what we think of as French Malbec, in fact his Cahors, especially from his Mas Del Perie stable, is one of the most interesting wines from the region and his natural winemaking practices are highlighting this varietal in a way we couldn’t have imagined. Most of his wines are fermented and raised in a combination of cement and neutral oak barrels, making for pure and delicious Malbec that shows wonderful vitality and balance with dark fruits, good acidity and superb length. Some whole cluster and native yeasts add to the natural feel, plus an extra bit of complexity, and the low sulphur gives this wine the same kind of personality that you find in wines like Lapierre’s Morgon, these natural wines are beautifully made, clear and focused with great attention to detail. The terroir here includes the alluvial terraces of the Lot Valley that are rich in siliceous, with clay, and limestone soils and plenty of Southwestern sunshine. Cahors, an ancient almost forgotten region in France’s almost feral Southwest, mostly known for rustic old school Malbecs, is seeing a Renaissance with many amazing new generation winemakers and wines that have taken this historic area to new levels of quality and excitement. If you want to see what Cahors can be, I suggest exploring Mas Del Perie, this Jouves & Croisille label, and the rare and exotic wines of Emmanuel Rybinski’s lineup of Clos Troteligotte, they are quite revolutionary, joyfully proud and delicious!
($22 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive