CombelLaSerre‘LesPeyresLevades’2021

<p>“If anyone orders Malbec, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any f****** Malbec!”, Miles might have raged if the movie Sideways had been made today. So popular is Malbec (aka Côt, Auxerrois, Pressac – it has over a thousand synonyms) in 2024 that its fruity blandness and smoooooth texture have almost become synonymous with red wine. But it’s not all rubbish.</p><p>For generations Jean-Pierre Ilbert’s family sold grapes to the local co-operative until he combined their vineyard holdings and established Combel-La-Serre in the tiny Cahors village of Cournou. In 2005, Jean-Pierre’s son Julien – having studied in Saint-Emilion – took over, first converting the estate to organics and later biodynamics.</p><p>Julien now farms 25ha of vines high on Cahors’ limestone plateau to produce ambitious riffs on Malbec in various forms. ‘Les Peyres Levades’ – from 50-year-old vines on stony, limestone-rich soils – is vinified in wood for 16 months, resulting in cherry-damson aromatics and a creamy texture.</p>