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2023 Cahors

Clos La Coutale
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Last year, my family purchased a quarter cow share from our local farm, returning home with a variety of cuts, mostly ground beef and chuck. We got enough ribeyes and New York strips to have a steak night once a month or so, which always feels like a special occasion. For steak night wine pairings, we’ve opened red Burgundy, Saint-Joseph, Bandol, Chianti Classico, and this Cahors, which holds its own among these celebrated appellations. The 2023 vintage has a slightly wild streak, which goes perfectly with a medium-rare ribeye and roast rosemary potatoes. Of course, I can think of plenty of pairings beyond red meat: cassoulet, vegetable stew, quesadillas—the list goes on.

Tom Wolf

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Technical Information
Wine Type: red
Vintage: 2023
Bottle Size: 750mL
Blend: 80% Malbec, 20% Merlot
Appellation: Cahors
Country: France
Region: Southwest
Producer: Clos La Coutale
Winemaker: Philippe Bernède
Vineyard: 60 ha
Soil: Gravel, limestone, clay
Aging: Aged in foudres and 1-2 years old Bordeaux barrels for one year
Farming: Traditional
Alcohol: 13.5%

More from this Producer or Region

About The Region

Southwest

map of Southwest

Tucked away beneath Bordeaux and buffeted by the Pyrenees to the south, this expansive region of France, commonly known as the Southwest, is home to a diverse number of viticulture and gastronomic traditions as well as cultures. Though Cahors might be the most well known (and easiest to pronounce) appellation from the Southwest, the importance and influence of French Basque culture cannot be underestimated. Irouléguy, the primary appellation of the Basque region of France produces full-bodied, hearty red wines, produced from Tannat grape (known for its tannic qualities). Dry whites from Irouléguy are also produced from Petit and Gros Manseng. Northeast of Irouléguy is the sweet wine-producing appellation of Jurançon. These moelleux wines made from Petit and Gros Manseng have a storied history in France, from being the first wine region to have a vineyard classification, which dates back to the 154th century, to being preferred wine of royalty dating back to the 16th century as well as the French poet Colette.

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$199.00 $270.00
$199.00 $270.00
$199.00 $270.00
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Sampler Includes:

2024 Saint-Chinian Rouge “Cebenna” • Les Eminades $29
This stylish cuvée of mostly Grenache captures France’s Mediterranean in all its fragrant glory. Though people often call Languedoc reds “soulful,” Patricia and Luc Bettoni have managed to produce a red that is almost breezy: notes of silky berries and bright rhubarb that follow with clean minerality.

2024 Gigondas • Domaine de Durban $34
The high elevation and limestone content of the rocky soils are key ingredients to the Leydiers’ Gigondas, which is characterized by crunchy wild fruit, mouthwatering salinity, and vigorous energy. It has a nice backbone, which means it will age well, but also a dynamic freshness that makes it so satisfying to uncork in its tender youth.

2021 Côtes du Vivarais Rouge • Domaine Gallety $34
With its gorgeous and lifted aromas of black pepper, briny black olive, and violets, the nose is all northern Rhône. When you take a sip, though, the freshness and elegance of Syrah are intermingled with the earthiness, herbs, and concentration of southern Rhône Grenache.

2023 Côtes-du-Rhône “La Sagesse” • Domaine Gramenon $47
You rarely find this kind of full flavor, succulence, and savoriness on such a graceful and lively frame. Biodynamic farming and 70-year-old vines are no doubt two factors behind the finesse on display, but it also might just come down to the fact that the Laurents are some of France’s winemaking geniuses.

2023 Vacqueyras Rouge “Doucinello” • Domaine Le Sang des Cailloux $42
Named for proprietor Serge Férigoule’s daughter, this red effectively showcases that fresh wine doesn’t just mean fresh fruit notes. The flavors are mostly deep and dark—stones, licorice, black olive, and blackberry—but the frame is elegant, yielding a mesmerizing yin and yang.

2023 Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Piedlong” • Famille Brunier $84
Blending mostly Grenache from Châteauneuf’s highest elevation with Mourvèdre from the sandy lieu-dit of Pignan, the Bruniers have produced a Châteauneuf-du-Pape with uncharacteristic finesse and immediate pleasure.

Normally $270.00
SPECIAL SAMPLER PRICE $199.00
(a 25% discount)

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Old cob-webbed wine bottles

Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.

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