the essential
In its last issue The Red and the Whitethe Cadurcien and editorial director of the quarterly, Emmanuel Costa Sedille, points out the potential of white wine in our department which has, in part, already proven itself. Meeting with an enthusiast who believes in the future of white wine in the Lot.
It’s not exactly “the future of wine in the Lot will be white or it won’t be”. But if we listen to Emmanuel Costa Sedille, editorial director of Red and Whitea quarterly specialized in viticulture, it will be strongly linked to it.
In any case, this is the observation drawn up by their last blind tasting session carried out by the members of the editorial staff, who may include wine merchants, oenology teachers or simply enthusiasts, but who have proven themselves as editors-tasters: “Out of 50 vintages of Lotois white wine from 23 different estates, 32 obtained a score of at least 13/20. Which is a very good mark given our criteria,” says this former human resources director. How can we explain this success when white wine only represents 10% of the total volume of vines planted in our department?
“It’s a white land”
In the land of red and Cahors, white wine does not arrive in conquered lands. The Lot has “two precursors in the 20th century,” notes Emmanuel Costa Sedille. The Château du Cèdre which plants Sauvignon and whose first vintage was produced in 1992. The second is the Belmont estate, which does not do things by half measures. In 1993, he carried out a soil study by agronomists who drew a conclusion: it was a land of white people. It is the same substrate in terms of soils as Chablisien, Burgundy, and even some Champagne terroirs. »
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More precisely, we note that the great terroirs of Chardonnay, in Burgundy, have a substrate called Kimmeridgian limestone: “It is the parent rock, at soil level, that we find in Chablis,” explains the enthusiast. .
These pioneers were quickly followed by other fields at the start of the 21st century: “It is often young people who take over the family business. Where their parents were more conservative, unwilling to do anything other than their Cahors, their red, they are more open and want to try new things. They don’t have the reflex to say white wine is not my culture. The new generation has understood that Dad’s Cahors, the well-toned, strong Cahors, is over. People are drinking less and less red wine. »
Productions to face climatic hazards
Among these winegrowers who are innovating in the Lot, the specialist points out different estates, such as that of Fabien Jouves (Mas del Périé), that of the Bourguignon family (Domaine Laroque d’Antan) or even that of Sophie and Julien Ilbert (Château Combel la Tight).
Another particularity of these wines which stand out from the crowd is their organic side: “Those with phytosanitary products have difficulty getting by. The soils are less alive. The quality of the product at the end suffers. »
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According to the specialist, the production of white wine in the department could represent 30% of wine production if winegrowers decided to turn to it. An untapped potential which also has the merit of being able to cope with climatic hazards. Because if red wine and white wine are equal in the face of frosts which can devastate farms, white wine, planted on the heights or the Causse, is more easily spared. A few weeks ago, The Dispatch went to meet winegrowers who were predicting a catastrophic season due to the after-effects of frost and rain. Enough to give ideas.
