Château de Gaudou Caillau Fauve Lieux Dit
WHY WE LOVE IT
- A juice without artifice but produced with all the care and precision to express the unique characteristics of the lieu-dit.
- This is one of five wines with the Les Lieux-dits designation (Lieu-dit is a French toponymic term for a small geographical area). There are five plots of land with five different terroirs and therefore each wine tastes very different.
- Sustainable farming practices are used to created this wine.
Varietal Composition: 100% Malbec
Elaboration: Pruning in cordon de Royat and vines entirely grassed under the row. De-stemming, sorting table, gentle modern punching down, indigenous yeasts, fermentation without sulphur, natural bacteria for malolactic fermentation. Light “vegan” fining in winter, bottling by gravity. Maturing in 400 litre Italian ovoid ceramic vats, choosing a medium-porous clay firing in order to protect the ripe fruit and at the same time to refine the tannins.
Tasting Notes: Black color with purple tinges. Discreet nose of black fruit, mineral dimension, liquorice, hints of violet. Concentrated, full-bodied, tense, more talkative, displaying a superb mineral quality.
PRESS
2019 – 90 Wine Enthusiast
2020 – 91 Wine Enthusiast | 90 James Suckling
PRODUCER BACKGROUND
Fabrice Durou is the seventh generation to continue his family’s winemaking tradition in Cahors. Aware of the importance of his heritage but carried aloft by the wings of youth, young vigneron Fabrice Durou creates wine worthy of Gaudou’s history combining organic farming and meticulous vineyard management with gentle winemaking that emphasizes fruit expression over wood.
The Gaudou estate sits in Vire-sur-Lot amongst a handful of Cahors’ other most prestigious vineyard addresses – A mythical location referred to as “The Beverly Hills of the Cahors Appellation” by critic Michele Bettane. Most vines on the estate are considered “old vine,” some still on original rootstock being planted as far back as the late 1800’s!
A variety of soil types and exposures within the estate drives complexity in the finished wine, and in addition to our current offerings you’ll see small quantities of Gaudou wines broken into seven single vineyard bottlings. Fabrice has evolved a “Cru” based philosophy with the intention to showcase the unique characteristics of each vineyard block he is farming.