Os Goliardos - Vinhos de Terroir Europeus

The father Gilles and his son Baptiste Bley cultivate 15 hectares of vineyards in organic farming with the varieties Auxerrois (Malbec), Tannat, Jurançon Noir in red and Mauzac in white, on this estate located on the arid plateau of Cahors, known as the “causse”, 1.15 hours north of Toulouse, on lighter, more calcareous soils than the other terroirs of Cahors, more clayey in the area by the river Lot, which give rise to more robust, rustic wines popularized by the English as “black wines” on the red side. They are part of the 10% of producers who farm in the more arid, qualitative historical terroir on the plateau.
The queen variety of the estate is Malbec, better known as Auxerrois or Côt in the area where it originated, although it has gained more fame in Argentina where it is the emblematic variety of the red wines produced. A vigorous variety, sensitive to certain insects, it likes limestone soils and can withstand drought well. Robust, tannic wines with a dense character that seem predestined for the duck and goose-based cuisine of the Lot region. They also grow Tannat and the more acidic indigenous Jurançon noir variety, which was banned from the designation of origin because it was considered too wild, which the Bley family doesn’t dislike, as well as a little Mauzac for a small white production.
Peasants who are very demanding in their monitoring of the vineyards, people of great kindness and generosity, with the naive sense of humor of candid people with their feet on the ground, preserved from modern artificial contaminations, work discreetly to produce consistent, digestible wines capable of long aging, revealing a Cahors style that knows how to combine density and fluidity in the mouth.
Baptiste used to say that going up to Paris for a tasting was like going from the 2nd national division straight into the Champions League… What will they think the day they dock in the Tagus river?