Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes (Don't want to be a richer woman)

It has been almost a year since I wrote a post on this blog, the reason being that it has been a full-on year in my life, with plenty of changes and (of course) delicious wines.
After leaving London and moving to France with my (drinking) partner in crime, we have decided to pursue our dream to leave the big cities and our office jobs and find our little corner of quiet in the countryside. So we bought a big house with a big garden to set up our B&B business. You may say we are just part of a global trend where people decide to return to the countryside in search for a life of higher quality and simpler things such as growing your own vegetables and being as much independent as possible from this fast society which is mainly focused on career and making money. Well, yes, this is exactly the plan: we are not rich nor trying to get there, we are just looking for quality rather than quantity.

Obviously this process has taken lots of our energies, especially in refurbishing an old house and decorating it but we finally succeeded and opened our B&B Le Casse-Noix in Sarlat La Caneda at the end of May.

Le Casse-Noix B&B Sarlat

Now you may ask what has this to do with wine...Well, nothing in particular, other that I am now living in one of the largest wine producing countries, less than 2 hours drive from one of the most (if not the most) popular wine regions of the world (i.e. Bordeaux) and have access to an immense choice of wines (often from smaller and lesser-known appellations) for very reasonable prices. Besides, the Dordogne  is deservedly considered one of the most interesting gastronomic destinations in France, with plenty of local productions and an ancient culinary tradition.

Sarlat on a winter afternoon

And now that I kind of feel that the pressure is slightly over and the activity is under control, the journey to my new food and wine experiences is just about to start. I will try to take you around in my exploration of the French regional cuisine and wine production and will carry on with my little posts on Italian wines and food.

Please `stand by the closing doors` and enjoy the ride!

PS: Don't forget.."You must be the change you wish to see in the world!" Mahatma Ghandi

Malbec vs Malbec

If Malbec was an human being, it would probably be considered as a bipolar personality. Otherwise, how else would you describe a grape that has different characters depending on the continent it's growing in?

Argentine Malbec reached the public's radar in the 80's-90's thanks to its charming character, juicy fruit and its plush, velvety texture. A type of wine difficult to dislike. It easily became fashionable, making Mendoza's fortune as a wine region.  And since then anyone been asked about Malbec would think about Argentina probably also because 70% of it is cultivated there.

But the truth is that the grape is actually originating from France, more precisely from the South West of the country and was introduced in Argentina only in the XIX century. Cahors, its home town, is a beautiful medieval city in the Lot region surrounded by vineyards but what is really interesting is that the wines produced here are quite different and much less fashionable from the South American ones, so well known by most consumers.

Much sturdier than its Argentinian brother, the 'black wine' of Cahors has generally a more difficult character, a rustic feel, less generous fruitiness, spiciness and harsher tannins that need a bit of ageing.

Not a great variety of Cahors Malbec make it to international market so, during my 2 weeks tour of South of France, I made a bit of research on my own. I was not looking  for any specific winery nor I was prepared for a very professional assessment. I just chose quite randomly from the supermarkets' shelves inspired by the label or by the price.

All the wines I have tasted were of surprisingly good quality and extremely fairly priced. I didn't find them that austere but they certainly had exuberant tannins and needed a bit of food (which of course was not missing) to express at their best.

I can reconfirm that these wines were extremely different in style from the Argentine Malbec (one of my favourites) I had when I came back home .
What I found interesting (and the reason that inspired me in writing this post) is the individual characters this grape can show and how the combination of soil, climate, human techniques (i.e. irrigation or not) and local traditions can produce such unusual wines from it.




I'd like to finish saying that I don't think there is a style that is better than the other, it is just a matter of taste. Always drink whatever you like!

Salute!