Chateau la Coustarelle 2019 Cahors "Grand Cuvee Prestige", Southwest France

This is the prestige bottling of the entry-level Cahors we’ve featured during the past year.  Cahors, if you don’t know, is located in France’s rustic southwest, a medieval town with a famous walking bridge over the Lot river that dates to the 1400s.  Malbec is the main grape, and while most modern Cahors blend softening grapes like Merlot to tame their wine, Coustarelle does the opposite, blending Tannat, a tannic, serious red grape, into the mix before spending 12 months in stainless steel and 12 months in oak barrels.  The result is a satisfying dry red wine with an almost chewy texture with a tannic grip that dries out the finish, not unlike a rustic Bordeaux.   Since it is over 5 years old, there is a bit of mature development going on in the nose and taste, so it’s ready to go now.  I can’t wait to try this wine with a fatty ribeye.