Grapes: Merlot + Malbec
Region: Cahors, France
Vintage: 2023
Viticulture: Biodynamic
Vinification: Whole cluster fermentation in concrete tanks
Aging: 9 months
Fining or Filtering: None
Sulfur: None
Notes from the Importer: Simon’s winemaking style is straightforward and without pretension. Fermentation takes place in simple fiberglass tanks, in an old barn used by his forebears to dry tobacco, among the region’s principal products in the Napoleonic era. Maceration is generally several weeks or more, giving the wines a richness and intensity that is refined in large wooden foudres, with longer elevage taking place in Burgundy barrels. It’s testament to the digestibility of wines made without chemical intervention that we were able to sample twenty-something examples of full maceration Malbec and Merlot without tiring of them. These varieties are not generally associated with refreshment but Simon gives them a special lift and vibrancy without straying far from the region’s ancestral style.
