On a spring Sunday evening, as the sun was just setting at 7pm, Bar Tartine restaurant on Valencia in the Mission district of San Francisco was goldenly lit inside. Darren, Monita, Sima, Chris, and I decided that we'd share a bottle of wine over dinner, as we caught up on the exciting news that Darren and Monita were moving across the Pacific to Japan!
It was between a jammy, earthy Grenache based wine, or a more full-bodied French Mablec. We like Malbecs! Monita chimed in. Malbec, we chose. Chateau du Cedre 2004 from the Cahors region.
Our glasses were filled with a dark, velvety purple-red wine. Most prominent were aromas of dark berries and smoky tobacco, with a hint of dark roasted coffee. Blackberries and boysenberries, Darren and I agreed. Pepper and Licorice, caught by Sima. The Wine opened up beautifully as dinner progressed, and paired perfectly with our 4 orders of Four Story Hill Farm onglet (French for Hanger steak), trumpet mushrooms, marrow fritter, and with the oolong tea smoked duck breast, crushed pea stuffed pasta, in duck broth. The sun set, the restaurant dimmed, and the Wine finished smoothly, just in time for dessert.
Cahors is located in the Southwest region of France, west of Bordeaux, where Malbec is the dominant grape varietal. Wines from Cahors are known for their colour (nicknamed "Black Wine") and body. Grapes tend to be concentrated from the influence of Mediterranean and Atlantic weather, in contrast to Bordeaux's lighter wines.
Wine question of the day: How would one distinguish between the velvety, concentrated wines of Argentina from the Malbecs of Cahors?
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