2021 Domaine la Calmette 'Résurgences' VDF Blanc, South West, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

A field blend of white grapes including Noual (indigenous variety), Sauvignon, Chenin, Sylvaner, etc. The vines are Southeast-facing, at the top of the slope in stony, shallow, clay-limestone soil that overlays Kimmerdigian bedrock. In 2021 the vintage was pressed very slowly using a pneumatic press after harvesting in boxes. For two varieties, the bunches were macerated 3-4 days beforehand. Fermentation took place over two years in a century-old Alsatian barrel, on total lees, as well as in non-new barrels. In the dry and warm cellar, careful oxidation takes place during the long aging process, adding aromatic complexity.

From the Producer: "The release of Résurgences is the culmination of work started in 2018. We began, in May of that year, the over-grafting of one of our plots of red, which was not satisfactory. We therefore grafted the vines (while keeping the root system of this 20-year-old vine) to the plot with wood collected from winegrower friends throughout France. The grape varieties? A plantation, designed as a “field” assembly, of numerous varieties. Some endemic and unknown, others regional and famous, others with a more personal connection. We chose complementary grape varieties, linked to the territory or to ourselves, to express the place and not the varietal."

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

This is not your dad's Cahors! There are two sides to the appellation: the alluvial valley of the Lot river, and the plateaux, Causses as they are called locally. The latter is where you will find Cahors’ most captivating wines. There, the bedrock is Kimmeridgian with a top soil of clay, and there is another type of terroir, siderolithic, which is very iron-rich. Maya and Nicolas at Calmette are not alone in making great wine on the Causses. There is a gang —Fabien Jouves comes to mind immediately. In other words, Cahors from the Causses is becoming a thing and this is what this gang is showing us: With top-notch viticulture, much lighter extraction, and lower to no sulfur, the hard tannins that made this appellation so infamous are gone. A fog has lifted; behind it, is an entirely different edge, this one magnificent: the minerality, acidity, and majestically punk rock energy of Kimmeridgian bedrock. Of course, Kimmeridgian is most famous for being the bedrock of Chablis. These new Cahors, especially Maya’s and Nicolas’, are softly and beautifully infused reds with the spine of powerfully mineral white wines. They are contemporary, energetic, saline, stony, vibrant. They are VERY exciting. Then, on the siderolithic terroirs, the iron-rich clay, with its signature umami and blood, takes it to a whole other level of complexity. These are Grands Vins.