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Gérard Bertrand buys organic wine estate in Cahors
Leading Languedoc Roussillon wine producer Gérard Bertrand has bought an organic estate with 35 hectares of vineyards in Cahors in a deal completed last week.
Acquired on Wednesday 7 September by Gérard Bertrand was Domaine de Cause, which has now become the first Bertrand property outside the Languedoc Roussillon region, and takes the total number of châteaux and wine estates in his portfolio to 17.
Speaking exclusively to the drinks business on Friday from his headquarters in La Clape, Château L’Hsopitalet, Bertrand said that he acted on impulse when it came to purchasing the property in Cahors, which is based within South West France.
“I fell in love with the beauty of the place, it was a coup de ceour,” he told db.
The current owners, Serge and Martine Costes, had decided to sell Domaine de Cause because their children do not want to take on the estate, according to Bertrand, who described the place as an excellent place for Malbec – which must make up a minimum of 70% of wines carrying the Cahors name.
Bertrand also said that it was “perfect timing” for the acquisition because Domaine de Cause has just completed a conversion to organic viticulture and obtained the AB certification.
With Bertrand being a specialist in biodynamic viticulture, he will immediately seek certification for this agricultural philosophy, which he said would take one year as the property was already certified organic, meaning that his Cahors could be labelled biodynamic from next year’s vintage.
Speaking further about the estate, he said, “I’m excited because this is the first time I will make wine in Cahors, and this will be the first time I make wine with old Malbec,” adding that the vines are between 25 and 50 years old.
Concluding, he said that his aim was to make “a top Cahors – not only a top Malbec; I want to reveal the sense of this place.”
Along with 35ha of vineyards – 20ha of which are planted with Malbec – Domaine de Cause comprised pasture for grazing sheep and forests of white oak and chestnut trees, as well as a set of stone buildings at the heart of the estate.
Located in the commune of Soturac, near the hamlet of Cavagnac, the estate is found in an exposed setting at 350m above sea level, with soils containing limestone and iron oxide, which Bertrand said provided ideal conditions for Malbec.
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