In 2013, winemaker Antonio Morescalchi (of Altos Las Hormigas in Argentina) visited Cahors, with world-renowned soil and vineyard mapping expert Pedro Parra, to learn more about the origins of Malbec. The appellation’s soil diversity fascinated the duo, especially in the vineyards planted on Kimmeridgian limestone terraces known as causses. With the help of their friends, famed winemakers Leo Erazo and Attilio Pagli, they selected two vineyards owned by a local family as the focus of Causse du Thron, their Cahors Malbec project. The Causse du Thron wines are named after these vineyards.

Planted on alluvial soil, the Terrasse vineyard sits in a valley that is easily accessible, making it well placed to be harvested by machine. Once picked, the wine is fermented using indigenous yeasts in cement tanks and aged for a year before bottling. The final Terrasse wine is incredibly pure, with expressive notes of ripe mulberry, blackberry and spice on the nose with fresh acidity and velvety tannins on the palate.

Conversely, the En Pentevineyard is planted on steep Kimmeridgian limestone terraces which must be harvested by hand. Like Terrasse, En Pente is fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks but is aged for two years rather than one. The result is a vibrant, yet intensely complex Malbec expression, with notes of blueberry and raspberry fruit, mouth-watering acidity and plump, round tannins.

The Causse du Thron wines may offer different expressions of Cahors Malbec, yet they share long, scented finishes and a unique ability to display bright Malbec fruit with a finesse unmarred by oak.

Vineyards

En Pente vineyard, where the team at Causse de Theron sources their g is set on Kimmeridgean Limestone soil. This means the soil contains at least some of the same elements that you should expect in Chablis and Champagne for example. As this is a project about ensuring that Malbec is showing how it reflects this terroir, it is fermented using endemic yeasts and then aged in a stainless steel tank for two years before release.

Vinification

En Pente is fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks but is aged for two years rather than one.

Tasting Notes

The ‘En Pente’ has aromas of blueberry and raspberry fruits with mouth-watering acidity and round tannins. The wine has a long and scented finish that showcases the fresh and bright Malbec fruit.

Reds from the South of France immediately make me think of wild boar sausages, but any pork or lamb sausages will do.