Did you know that here in the Loire we grow Malbec? Yes, the grape variety that you may think belongs to Argentina. Actually it’s French and here in the Loire we call it by its proper name, Côt!
Originally, Malbec was widely planted in the south west of France around Cahors (it’s said that the name Côt may have come from this). The wines used to be called the black wines of Cahors having a reputation for strong tannins and a nearly inky black colour.
The name Malbec was adopted much later on. Malbeck was a man that cultivated the grape in the Bordeaux region in the late 18th century.
Here in the Loire Côt makes lovely spicy rosés and robust full bodied reds. It’s the flagship grape in the Touraine Amboise appellation. If yields are controlled it ripens about 10 days before Cabernet Franc.
As a grape variety its prone to disease and vigorous. Young vines are sensitive to spring frosts and the secondary buds (which push if the first buds are killed by the cold) and not very fertile.
Malbec gained momentum in Argentina in the late 20th century after Frenchman and ampelographer (grapevine specialist) Michel Aimé Pouget introduced the variety to the region in 1868.
So there you have it! Malbec is a French grape variety and here, is called Côt.
We love l’Artiste, the Côt from Fred Plou at Chateau de Montdomaine just down the road from us.
