Cèdre Héritage 2008 Cahors: a deep, dark, mid-winter red

A little Cahors to warm the night

​Cèdre Héritage 2008
$9/$5

Kings Wine Bar
4555 Grand Ave. S., Minneapolis
612.354.7928

The end-of-January blues have set in, and we're tired of sampling brown liquors (for the moment). So we went looking for a sturdy, deep glass that could stand up to the cold temps and the dirty snow outside. Bellying up to the bar at Kings, we asked for a deep, dark red.

Le Cèdre Héritage is a Cahors from southwest France and is comprised of 95% malbec and 5% merlot. It appears dark ruby to the eye and is dry with notes of chocolate, spice, and licorice on the palate. It's got an almost meaty fruit taste that pairs well with the steak salad special at Kings.

Besides being delicious and full-bodied for the price, this wine is a (clearly) non-Argentine malbec from an area that is gaining in popularity. We'd call it up-and-coming, except that winemaking in Cahors dates back to the ancient Roman era. Wiped out in the late 1800s by Phylloxera (aphid-like insects that attack grapevines), the region has revived the business and is becoming known for classy but affordable wines.

Perhaps you too, will seem classy, but reasonable, if you order a pour of this dark, deep French beauty at Kings. At the very least, it holds up to a chilly evening, so you can save the hard stuff for when you really need it--like when it dips back below zero.