Mary Taylor Cahors 2018

Fresh Blackcurrant, Black Plum Peel, Black Pepper, Dried Lavender, Wet Earth

Long-time devotees of our Explorers’ Club will recognize not only the region of Cahors, famous for its full-bodied expressions of Malbec, but also this particular bottling. Now in its 2018 vintage, this Cahors is one of Mary’s flagship wines, produced by winemaker Didier Pelvillain (although it bears his mother’s name out of respect). Odile Delpon, matriarch of the family, converted her tobacco and saffron plantation into an estate winery back in the 1960s, focusing solely on Malbec production. Didier would join his parents at the helm in the 1990s. The tobacco and saffron may be gone, but the family’s attention to detail and commitment to low-intervention winemaking remain.

To make this wine, Didier uses exclusively biodynamic practices, pacing the vineyards at night to observe the position of the moon and its effect on his vines. Harvest by hand and native yeast fermentation complete the list of traditional practices before bottling. When you open this wine, I strongly suggest decanting for at least half an hour.