Cahors AOC

Cahors is the Lot Valley's historic wine appellation in southwest France, long known as the 'Black Wine of Cahors' for its intense, tannic Malbec (locally called Côt or Auxerrois). The appellation requires minimum 70% Malbec (Côt) with Merlot and Tannat permitted as blending partners. The Lot Valley's causses (limestone plateaus) and valley terraces provide diverse soil types that produce Malbec wines of greater structure and austerity than the Argentinian versions — more mineral, more tannic, and requiring longer aging. The appellation experienced a quality renaissance in the 1990s and 2000s as producers moved away from rough, harsh wines to polished, terroir-expressive Malbec.