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All tasting notes
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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 1987 and 1991 (based on 156 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Clos La Coutale Producer website
However, the U.S. Importer's pg, https://www.kermitlynch.com/our-wines/clos-la-coutale/ , may well contain more pertinent info -- including an update of the below.
Modern techniques but respecting traditional methods. All the grapes are destalked and pressed before fermentation in stainless steel vats, each grape variety from different parts of the vineyard being fermented separately. Maceration at 28º C. takes 15 days. The wines are fermented for three weeks on the skins, and the property has sufficient tank space to ferment 100% of their harvest at once. After racking from stainless steel, half of the wine goes into 60-gallon Seguin-Moreau barrels,while the balance is aged in 800-gallon foudre. The wine is blended and time spent (12 months) in oak vats gives it the special aromas of vanilla and silky tannins. The wine is bottled, unfiltered, after a year in wood. The blend is 70% Malbec (known locally as Cot), the traditional grape of the region, blended with 15% Merlot which gives finesse and bouquet, 15% Tannat which gives it its aging potential. Yields average 40-45 hl/ha (about 2.5 - tons/acre.)
Tasting notes
For decades Kermit Lynch has worked with Coutale, currently managed by a very cool Philippe Bernède, who don’t consider “prodigious concentration” and “sledgehammer on the palate” positive reviews. Philippe has reduced the proportion of Tannat in the blend over the years, preferring a wine with more balance and immediate pleasure, so the blend is now predominantly Malbec (with a touch of, gasp, Merlot - is that still a cuss word?). The 2006 is a particularly sexy vintage for Philippe, with very ripe, silky tannins and a perfumed finish. Don’t let the “feminine for Cahors” bit trip you, though. This is a deeply hued wine with a big, round palate and plenty of meaty tannin. It just happens to be even more versatile at table than usual.
Malbec BlendCordiscoFrance Vins de France (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins ) | Pages Vins, Directory of French Winegrowers | French Wine (Wikipedia)
Wine Scholar Guild vintage ratings
2018 vintage: "marked by a wet spring, a superb summer and a good harvest"
2019 vintage reports
2021: "From a general standpoint, whether for white, rosé or red wines, 2021 is a year marked by quality in the Rhône Valley Vineyards. Structured, elegant, fresh and fruity will be the main keywords for this new vintage."
2022 harvest: idealwine.info | wine-searcher.comSouthwest France Comité Interprofessionnel des Vins du Sud Ouest | Les vins du Tarn-et-Garonne on-lineCahors Le Vins de Cahors (L’Union Interprofessionnelle du Vin de Cahors)
The Cahors appellation is located in the département of Lot, which itself lies in the greater region known as Quercy. Sandwiched between the Dordogne and Toulouse, the rolling hills of the area that twist gently along with the River Lot provides the visitor with a fairy tale view around each bend; villages topping the peaks of small hills, blue sky and vine-covered expanses, castles tucked neatly into hillside folds or hanging precariously on the rim of a cliff...it's not surprising that this area attracts huge numbers of tourists and foreigners looking to buy retirement homes abroad! The Cahors vineyards date back to the Roman occupation, making them among the oldest in France.
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Cahors is a small town in southwestern France, located 100 miles (160km) east of Bordeaux. In wine terms it is known for its deeply colored reds made predominantly from Malbec (known locally as both Côt and Auxerrois), with small quantities of Tannat and Merlot. Interestingly, Cahors is the only red-wine appellation in the French south-west to use neither Cabernet Sauvignon nor Cabernet Franc. Malbec typically ripens midway through the growing season and produces small, intensely colored grapes. As it is so sensitive to its growing environment, the level of ripeness has a considerable effect on the structure of the eventual wine. Broadly speaking, French Malbec tends to be more meaty, rustic and tannic. Malbec wines are generally aged in oak to enhance the wine's structure and aging potential. |
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