2011 Pigeonnier
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
Even more impressive and spending 28 months in French oak, the 2011 Cahors Le Pigeonnier Malbec is an incredible bottle of wine. Inky purple to the rim, it offers up a thrilling bouquet of creme de cassis and assorted black and blue fruits, chocolate, lead pencil shavings, spring flowers and hints of wild herbs to go with a full-bodied, layered and seamless profile on the palate. Massively concentrated and rich, it stays pure and fresh, with no hard edges or rusticity, fine tannin and a blockbuster finish. It benefits from a decant, and will have over two decades of longevity. While located in Cahors and not falling under the purview of this report, I was able to taste through this lineup, and opted to include the wines here as the quality is off-the-charts. Importer: The Other Wine and Spirits LLC, www.ows-winespirits.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
All 25 year-old Malbec from a 25 year-old 2.7 ha vineyard. Yields 15-20hl/ha. Aged for a full 28 months in new oak barrels. Dour-day cold maceration. Malo in barrel. Just a few thousand bottles made. Tech spec does not specify soil type. Blackish crimson. Does smell more of winemaking than vineyard (or am I being too cynical?). Sort of petri dish concentration. Certainly not ready yet. There are cloves and rather raw purple fruits. Needs lots of time. A bit raw porty for the moment. Defiintely for a certain sort of wine drinker. Looking for exports across the Atlantic? (JR)