Cahors Petit Clos, Clos Triguedina 2021

This leading estate in Cahors in south-west France has been owned by the Baldès family since 1830 and Jean-Luc Baldès, the current owner, has some 57 hectares from which to make his portfolio of wines, including small amounts of white and rosé. But it is reds which shape the estate’s reputation. To this end, the vineyards – some of which are of considerable age - are planted mainly with malbec grapes as well as merlot and tannat. The style here is structured and generously flavoured.

We are delighted to name the estate one of our Wine Society Pioneers for their commitment to sustainable production.

A large part of the vineyard is organic, with minimal spraying where it can’t be avoided elsewhere, and to discourage pests a system of sexual confusion has been introduced there after trials with the company who invented it, pioneering the way for their neighbours. They even spray clay onto vine leaves so that insects slip off! Cover crops like oats, radish and peas brings nitrogen to soil and they use small amounts of only natural fertiliser. 

Harvesting at night means cool grapes arrive at the winery and don’t need artificial chilling in tanks, leading to cooler fermentations. Minimal sulphites just before bottling are used, with natural yeasts for fermentation, and only gravity is used for pressing. The installation of a lower-energy cooling system and insulated piping helps prevent energy loss.

Water reduction is critical these days and Triguedina dry-farm, i.e. use no irrigation, keeping water usage to an absolute minimum during cleaning and measuring the water’s cleanliness after the job to reuse what they can. They even have their own water treatment station to release it back cleanly.

The Baldes family encourages biodiversity, planting olive and almond trees as well as species suitable for truffle growth. Surrounding the vineyards fruit trees – peach, prune, kiwi, apples – have been planted and bees on site pollinate and provide honey. It all sounds delicious!