Château du Cèdre - Cahors Le Cèdre 2020

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Pascal and Jean-Marc Verhaegue have taken this estate to the pinnacle of Cahors through meticulous viticulture and precise winemaking. The 27 hectares (25 of which are planted with red grapes) are divided into three plots on two of the appellation’s finest soil types, notably the famous third terrace. One is clay-limestone and produces wines of great finesse. The other consists of pebbles mixed with reddish sand, ideal for producing more powerful wines.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Still influenced by its aging (2 years in oak), this cuvée offers a toasty, spicy nose, followed by a robust, full-bodied palate. Definitely one for the cellar.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

Austere in character, the 2020 Cèdre reveals a deep, dark bouquet of licorice, oak, dark berries, and cedar. Full-bodied, resinous, and dense, it features a fleshy core of fruit, structured tannins, and a long yet firm finish. The vintage is very much present in this wine, which will benefit from a little time to soften and fully integrate its powerful elements.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The 2020 Cèdre makes a bold and powerful impression with its spicy, complex body; the texture reveals a Malbec of great precision, perfectly ripe and aged in large oak casks without sulfites until bottling.

About the estate:

For more than fifteen years, the Verhaeghe brothers—Pascal in winemaking and Jean-Marc in the vineyard—and now Jules, Pascal’s son, have made Cèdre the benchmark of the appellation. It must be said that they benefit from an exceptional terroir: on the one hand, a particularly stony and constantly shifting cone of limestone scree—the famous “tran”—which produces fine, elegant wines; on the other hand, a soil of pebbles over iron-rich sand, which lends the wines greater power. Made from perfectly ripe, carefully selected grapes, the wines—always deeply colored—achieve a rare level of quality and consistency thanks to refined tannins and velvety textures. The Extra-Libre cuvées offer the entire range in sulfur-free versions.

Wine Enthusiast

About the wine:

From one of the largest estates in Cahors, this wine offers an abundance of black fruit and prunes. It is a refined and well-balanced wine with structured tannins and intense aging potential. The wine will be ready to drink starting in 2026. Organic.

James Suckling

About the wine:

A lovely nose of black cherry, Boysenberry, and aromatic herbs, with a hint of black earth and white pepper. The palate is fairly tight, with a medium- to full-bodied structure and fine tannins. Lively and taut on the mid-palate, it features crisp blueberries and a savory finish. Made from organically grown grapes. Enjoyable now, but has aging potential.