2022 Clos d’Audhuy “Queue de Pressoir” Ségalin/Malbec, Cahors, France.
The Clos d’Audhuy “Queue de Pressoir” chillable red from winemaker Benoit Rynard in Cahors is a fun wine, called a red Rosé, made from old vines and mainly from the rare Ségalin grape, an indigenous varietal to the region and a bit of Malbec, that shows off juicy red berry, plum, cherry and red peach fruits, along with a touch of wild herbs, grilled orange, subtle dark florals, pepper and cigar wrapper. This medium bodied wine, 70% Ségalin and 30% Malbec, is crisply detailed and sees no maceration or any oak, it was fermented exclusively in stainless steel tank and raised for 6 months, again similar to a Rosé. Clos d’Audhuy is all certified organic, certified biodynamic, certified sustainable, plus AB and DEMETER certified and mostly known for their Malbec, AOC Cahors, bottlings, which are natural and full of rustic charm. Grown on the classic limestone soils, this wine is from 60 year old vines, mostly Malbec, that included a block of Ségalin, which is a teinturier grape, with red flesh and juice, that instead of ripping out, Benoit put into this wine. Cahors, a former Roman town, in France’s southwest, 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. Originally Cahors supplied the Roman armies with dark and powerful black wines. 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, and the rest is history. These days, Emmanuel Rybinski’s Clos Troteligotte Malbecs, which have a cult following and Fabien Jouves, who is also making more natural style Cahors wines with his Mas del Perie label is one of the region’s brightest stars, and Clos d’Audhuy is also one not to miss here.
The winery says their “Queue de Pressoir” highlights the obscure Ségalin grape, a nearly-forgotten variety indigenous to the Cahors region, and known for its tannic, rustic character. It is vinified in an almost rosé-like fashion, being lightly extracted, thus allowing the more delicate elements of the grape to come through. The grape has Alicante Bouchet and or Saperavi like deep red juice, so it doesn’t need much of a maceration to achieve a dark color, hence the unique style here. For depth and added textural feel it was combined with 30% “end of press” Malbec from Benoit’s ‘Polisson’ rosé, making this “Queue de Pressoir” is easy drinking, off-the-beaten-path and low tannin red wine that I think begs to be chilled down. According to Rynard’s importer, Wine Wise, the story here was that, not too long ago, Benoit acquired a prize parcel of old Malbec in the midst of which there were several rows of Ségalin, (once thought to be) an ancient local variety of rustic character. His inspiration was to make from this parcel a wine that can be described as a “red rosé” or a “rosé red”, and this became (the) “queue de pressoir” – or last pressings, which also saw some of the Malbec, as noted, from his regular rosé. That said, it turns out Ségalin, as noted by Jancis Robinson’s 2006 updated Oxford Companion to Wine, is a crossing of Jurançon Noir and Blauer Portugieser and only dates back to around 1957, having been created by Paul Truel, famous for breeding grapes, at the university in Montpellier, according to research and DNA mapping. Cahors, an ancient almost forgotten region in France’s almost feral Southwest, 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, as seen here. The Clos d’Audhuy label is one to look for and especially the all Malbec offerings, but this delicious “Queue de Pressoir” shouldn’t be overlooked, thanks to my friend Lee Lightfoot, Sommelier at Le Bicyclette in Carmel by the Sea for sharing this one with me.
($20 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive