Thanks to an introduction by Mathieu Deiss, Domaine La Calmette in Cahors is easily one of the most exciting domaines we represent. But this is not your dad’s Cahors.

There are two sides to the appellation: the alluvial valley of the Lot river, and the plateaux, Causses as they are called locally. The latter is where you will find Cahors’ most captivating wines. There, the bedrock is Kimmeridgian with a top soil of clay, and there is another type of terroir, siderolithic, which is very iron-rich. Maya and Nicolas at Calmette are not alone in making great wine on the Causses. There is a gang —Fabien Jouves comes to mind immediately. In other words, Cahors from the Causses is becoming a thing and this is what this gang is showing us: With top-notch viticulture, much lighter extraction, and lower to no sulfur, the hard tannins that made this appellation so infamous are gone. A fog has lifted; behind it, is an entirely different edge, this one magnificent: the minerality, acidity, and majestically punk rock energy of Kimmeridgian bedrock. Of course, Kimmeridgian is most famous for being the bedrock of Chablis. These new Cahors, especially Maya’s and Nicolas’, are softly and beautifully infused reds with the spine of powerfully mineral white wines. They are contemporary, energetic, saline, stony, vibrant. They are VERY exciting. Then, on the siderolithic terroirs, the iron-rich clay, with its signature umami and blood, takes it to a whole other level of complexity. These are Grands Vins.

And there is even something more going on at Calmette, similar to what we’ve seen at Chantereves. Can’t yet fully put a finger on it, but when two lovers with great intelligence and talent, and with impeccable credentials and taste make wine together —in unison— there is a subtle yet very compelling additional layer in their wines. Could we be tasting the energy of togetherness? Of the unity of feminine and masculine? Could it be that when the lights of the cellar are turned off, wines made only by One, longingly recite Verlaine’s My Familiar Dream?