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WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

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Robert J.

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WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Robert J. » Fri Jan 05, 2007 7:44 pm

I had this wine with my Cassoulet since it (the wine) is from Cahors.

Chateau Matayac Cahors Vintage 2002.

Color was a great, dark red but not quite black with a little bright red at the edge. It took the legs a zillion years to start falling and the viscosity of the wine reflected this

On the nose there was a lot of earth, leather, toast, chocolate, and a hint of rosemary (?).

On the palate there was still a lot of earth, chocolate, dried cherries, prunes, and even some hay(?). The tannins were pretty strong when I opened it but the wine blossomed nicely over four hours. It really sets up camp in the mouth and has a nice, long finish.

The price was $12 (U.S.) and was a steal at that. I really like the Languedoc wines and this was a winner for me. I'm getting more.

The Bertrand Tautavel was less impressive. I got what I should have expected from this big producer: a wine that was austere and one demensional. But I have had wines from him before that I liked well enough.

On the nose there was a lot of tar and something kind of charred but the color was lighter than the nose would imply.

On the palate the body was medium-heavy with notes of blackberries, maybe. The strange thing is that after being open for 30 minutes the nose and palate took on a very strong grapefruit(!!!!) smell/taste. This caught me off gaurd. Any thoughts on that?

The vintage on the Tautavel was 2002.
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Brian K Miller

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Re: WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Brian K Miller » Tue Jan 09, 2007 1:51 am

Robert: Have you ever tried Ch. Lagrezette. My first Cahors. I've somewhat enjoyed some of the (gasp!) California Malbecs I've tried over the year.
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Re: WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Rahsaan » Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:59 am

California Malbecs


Interesting. Is there a particular part of California that is most promising for malbec?
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Re: WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Brian K Miller » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:30 pm

The producer was DeLorimer/Mosaic in upper Alexander Valley. I've also had a Malbec froma Rutherford producer (Elizabeth Spencer), but I can't remember the grape source.
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Re: WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Rahsaan » Tue Jan 09, 2007 12:33 pm

Huh. Was wondering how the tannins would differ in CA, as I understand malbec is a late-ripening variety that needs long sun exposure to calm the harshness.

But I'm no farmer.
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Re: WTN: Chateau Matayac and G.B. Tautavel

by Robert J. » Tue Jan 09, 2007 8:45 pm

Brian K Miller wrote:Robert: Have you ever tried Ch. Lagrezette. My first Cahors. I've somewhat enjoyed some of the (gasp!) California Malbecs I've tried over the year.


I have not tried it. I'll look for it, thanks for the heads up. I'm going to check out some other Cahors and post them when I do. I'll also look for some Cal Mal and check it out.

rwj

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