On the Subject of Malbec

So, this is a beauty that I must admit I have had flirtations with on and off, but with whom I have never really sat down to have good and maybe even well-deserved heart to heart.

Chateau Lagrezette 2003-Cahors

100% malbec from Cahors, just east of Bordeaux.

Now before everyone gets all huffy about Mendoza where "Malbec is a Star," (New World, some few odd days ago), a sentiment to which I could certainly agree sometimes, lets not forget that Cahors birthed this sassy varietal (a 38 hour delivery to triplets, it was reported). Summer in Cahors is like spending a day on a reclined chair pool-side, a 12 minute drive from the Sun. It's under these conditions that Malbec delivers its juicy, sun-burst fruit and tannin.

Were this particular one a house, it would be a split level duplex: Upstairs on the nose and first sip is an American-Empire kitchen and living room of this slowly mulled and delicately spiced plum. "Lovely, I think I'll take it."

Downstairs is a wall to wall piss-up: a stereo blasting Nine-Inch Nails, rampant chair and bottle throwing, and at the center of which is an open fire roasting a cauldron of piquillo peppers, applewood bacon cut extra fat, and whole-roasted goat meat. "I'll definitely take it, especially with all the downstairs storage space."