2016 Château Haut-Monplaisir Cahors Prestige

Cathy and Daniel Fournié of Château Haut-Monplaisir farm 74 organically-certified acres in Cahors, the ancestral home of the black Malbec grape. Malbec was cultivated here during Gallo-Roman times long before Bordeaux became established, and it made Cahors’ reputation. Today Cahors is in the midst of a renaissance, but even so its vineyard acreage is only 15% of what it was in the mid-1800s. For Château Haut-Monplaisir, the Prestige is their mid-tier cuvée, raised in mix of new and old barrels, both 225L and 600L demi-muids. Full, meaty, smoky, long and balanced. This is 100% organically-farmed Malbec with bottle age. This is ready to go!

92 points, Wine Enthusiast. "This wine from the Fournié family is made from organically grown grapes. Its powerful structure, impressively fine tannins and black fruits are coming together in a wine that has density and spicy, perfumed concentration. It will age further, so drink from 2021."