THANKS TO ITS “CAHORS MALBEC INVEST” STRATEGY, THE PROFESSIONAL UNION OF CAHORS WINEMAKERS (UIVC) HAS SUCCEEDED IN ATTRACTING GREAT WINEMAKERS AS INVESTORS.
Originally hailing from Bordeaux and from the Cahors region, the French quality Malbec pioneers in Argentina (founders of Bodega Fabre Montmayou) have now decided to invest in the Cahors vineyards. Back to the roots… of Malbec and of their own families.
REMINDER / STRATEGY
Implemented since 2013, the ambition of the “Cahors Malbec Invest” strategy is to attract major wine merchants, winemakers, oenologists and soil scientists from all over the world, who share an interest in developing great terroir Malbecs, to the Cahors AOC vineyard.
Great terroir cuvees are today made by:
- – The Argentinian Bodega Altos las Hormigas and Château les Croisille, Métairie Grande du Théron and Domaine du Prince;
- – Argentinian oenologist Léo Borsi and the Piéron family;
- – Winemaker Paul Hobbs and Maison Vigouroux.
Today, the Cahors vineyard welcomes Hervé Joyaux and his partners, who already own Bodega Fabre Montmayou in Argentina.
CURRENT EVENTS
A long-standing friendship: Hervé Joyaux and the Montmayou Family
Photo credit: Terroir Manager
On Friday 30 June 2017, Hervé Joyaux, who hails from Bordeaux, and the Montmayou family from the Cahors vineyards, became the owners of the brands Château Saint Didier de Parnac (leading AOC Cahors brand in Quebec), Château de Grézels and Prieuré de Cénac (among the terroirs showing the greatest potential in the appellation). This covers a total of approximately 120 hectares, making them the second-ranked major producers in the Cahors AOC.
Moreover, Hervé Joyaux has just created a merchant brand named LATIS, meaning “light of day” in Celtic.
Photo credit: Terroir Manager
“We received an exceptional welcome when we arrived in Cahors. I was very impressed by the quality of the wines and the diversity of terroirs, which is very important to avoid monotony. The excellent wines we tasted suggest that Cahors is set to become a great French and international appellation”, said Hervé Joyaux.
Quality Malbec pioneers in Argentina
In 1993, Hervé Joyaux launched Bodega Fabre Montmayou in Argentina in partnership with his childhood friend Pierre Noyer Montmayou, a descendant of Marshal Bessières, whose statue overlooks Allées Fénélon in Cahors, and whose heart is kept in the Church in Prayssac, the village where he was born.
Together, they became “pioneers of quality 100% Malbec wine” in a country which had only about 10,000 hectares of Malbec at the time (versus some 45,000 hectares today) and which used Malbec only for blends and not for high-quality Malbec varietal wines.
Rediscovering the Cahors vineyard
In December 2007, the UIVC sent a delegation to Argentina and visited several bodegas, including Fabre Montmayou.
Since then, the AOC has always stayed in contact with Hervé Joyaux, who considers that “relations between Argentina and the other Malbec-producing regions in the world, particularly Cahors, are of strategic importance”.At the end of June 2015, during the Vinexpo fair, UIVC Terroir Manager Jérémy Arnaud invited Hervé and Diane Joyaux to visit the Cahors vineyard, discover its landscapes, terroirs, wines, gastronomy and of course meet the winemakers and merchants.
“They noticed the dynamic approach and the great potential. Today, some two years later, they have joined the Cahors winemakers and merchants; they have come back to their roots, those of Malbec but also those of their families”, explains UIVC Marketing Director Jérémy Arnaud.THE CAHORS VINEYARD EXTENDS A WARM WELCOME TO DIANE AND HERVÉ JOYAUX AND THEIR PARTNERS.
MAKE CAHORS GREAT AGAIN!
Photo credit: Jérôme Morel
