This is the main wine of the estate, made from certified-organic malbec (known locally as cot), grown in a privileged location with gravelly soils on the second terrace of the right bank of the Lot river, near Puy l’Évêque. The winemaking philosophy is to produce wines that are light-framed, fresh, and elegant. In practice, this means careful control of the temperature during maceration and fermentation. It also means no use of oak barrels at all in the winery to make wines that are pure, transparent expressions of the site.

Vintage Notes – 2015 was an excellent vintage, giving well-structured, complex wines of great balance. 2015 was the best vintage since 2010 in Cahors, producing wines that will age well for a decade or more. Following a wet winter that gave the vineyards water reserves that would prove important, Cahors’ 2015 growing season brought a mild spring with on-time flowering, followed by dry and warm temperatures from June through the end of August. 

Vinification – The goal at Château du Cayrou is the transparent expression of terroir; therefore, the winemaking process is kept as simple as possible. After a pre-dawn harvest, the wines are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at 25°C to 27°C, with a maceration period of 20 days. The wines then age for two years in stainless steel tanks before bottling.

→ Tech Sheet

→ Back to Château du Cayrou