Day 37 – Chateau Haut-Monplaisir

 

Chateau Haut-Montplaisir
  Our Airbnb host apparently worked in the wine industry and in our early communications he had offered to suggest a winery or two to visit.  I took him up on the offer and he suggested two places  After communicating with Mathilde we agreed on a time on our last day in Cahors. 

It dawned a beautiful clear day in Cahors and was promising to be rather warm.  We were not due at Chateau Haut-Monplaisir until that afternoon. The chateau is near Puy St Eveque and it would have been good to combine the trip with visiting that little village but we had already done so not knowing that proximity of the two. 

Coffee in Cahors

Instead we went for a walk into town for a coffee.  I have included a couple of photos of the town from the bridge we frequently crossed over as the light was so different to the first photos I had taken. 



We set off earlier than we needed just in case we had some difficulties finding the Chateau.  We did make one or two wrong turns but found it quite easily.  The area they are in seems to be the main winegrowing area of the Cahors appellation.  The Chateau is modest compared to some of the Bordeaux chateau. 

We were met by the lovely Mathilde.  She is the daughter of the owners and had responsibility for marketing and is now involved in the vinification of the wines.  We were able to taste the whole range of their wines.  They make a couple whites, a rosé and several reds of increasing quality.  We liked the rosé which was perfectly balanced, a hint of sweet fruit but dry and delicate.  The reds all had some age on them, with the top red being a 2020 as was the second in the tier of the wines.  Getting wines aged to that degree is very unusual. 

Mathilde and the range of wines

Mathilde told us some of the history of the vineyard.  The family had been involved in grape growing for over a century.  Her grandparents had previously made wine for the bulk wine market such as in flagons and boxes.  Her parents had taken it over about 25 years ago and had a different vision for the wine wanting to get into the premium bottled wine market.  Soon after taking over the vineyard they converted it to organic prompted in part because one their siblings had died of cancer.  Whether the toxic sprays used on the farm caused it or not she said her mother did not want to have her children exposed to the chemicals.  She said they thought their organic wines tasted better now than before the conversion occurred and that the soil was also much healthier.  

Malbec is the main grape of the district, the same as that in Argentina.  Apparently the grape made its way to Argentina when brought to the  country by a French viticulturist.  The wines are quite different with the Argentinian wines being soft and fruity whereas the Cahors wines tend to be darker and more tannic. The Cahors wine is very much a food wine. 

Part of the vineyard

It was a wonderful discussion about wines and the history of the vineyard and it was nice to be in the cool of the tasting room. 

When we got back we sat on our balcony for a little while until the heat drove us back inside. 

It was nice way to end our stay in Cahors.  I really enjoyed our stay there.  It was a relatively small town but it and the district offered so much to do.  We found out about a cycle trail we could have done that utilised disused railway line.  Mathilde’s parents remember taking the train to Cahors as children, so, it is not that long ago it closed.  

An excited Bev


What we saw as we walked across the bridge

Looking upriver of the Lot

 

 

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