Wines made from Malbec grapes of Gascogne
Discover the best wines made with Malbec as a single variety or as a blend of Gascogne.
Malbec, a high-yielding red grape variety, produces tannic and colourful wines. It is produced in different wine-growing regions and changes its name according to the grape variety. Called Auxerrois in Cahors, Malbec in Bordeaux, it is also known as Côt. 6,000 hectares of the Malbec grape are grown in France (in decline since the 1950s). Malbec is also very successful in Argentina. The country has become the world's leading producer of Malbec and offers wines with great potential.
Between the Landes forest, the Garonne and the Pyrenees, the Gascony hillsides cover the Gers dePartment and part of the Landes and Lot-et-Garonne departments. The vineyards occupy the same area as Armagnac, a brandy still produced in the region, but whose volumes have declined in favour of vins de pays (now PGI). Under the influence of a mild oceanic Climate, it is fairly wet in the west, drier in the east, especially in summer. In the west, the subsoil of tawny sands is of marine origin, covered with boulbènes; in the east, it gradually gives way to molasse, a rock resulting from the erosion of the Pyrenees.