This year, at the Rencontres des cépages modestes, the featured grape variety was Cot, the official name for Malbec planted in Gironde

We were able to attend several talks by leading ampelography and wine history specialists. Here, Olivier Yobregat tells us about Malbec throughout history. The grape variety has borne many names. Locally, it was once called Estrangey or Queue rouge, after the colour taken on by the bunch and the petioles. Malbec was once widely planted across Graves and in Nord Médoc. It could account for up to 75% of the varietal mix, as shown by the work of Philippe Roudié. In our commune of Saint-Pierre de Mons, it represented more than 25% of the vineyard plantings. It was abandoned in favour of Merlot following phylloxera. Why? Because it was temperamental, capable of producing very little as well as copious yields. Work on massal selections has now made this grape variety much more consistent. We are replanting it because we firmly believe in how well suited this grape variety is to our Graves terroirs. The vinification of our old parcel in 2019 has yielded truly promising results, and we cannot wait to share a taste with you after ageing in amphora.