Valerie Courreges, Zinzolin 2021

40% Malbec, 30% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot

Coteaux du Quercy, South West, France

Grapes are mostly de-stemmed, but not crushed in order to maintain the integrity of the berries. Wines are fermented with native yeast in small concrete tanks, sorted by parcel. Moderate extraction by gentle punch-downs or small pump-overs. 9 to 21 days total for maceration and fermentation before racking to small concrete tanks and sandstone jars for 12 months of aging. Unfined and unfiltered. VEGAN

This cuvée's name references an old-fashioned word for red-purple, classified out of the Cahors appellation and as a Vin de France because of its old-vine blend from Courrèges' premium terroir around Montcuq.

While working as an oenologue in Provence, Valérie Courrèges was looking for an outstanding terroir with which to settle down, and in 2019, came across the perfect opportunity to settle in Cahors. Now based in the South West, Valérie tends 22 hectares of old vines rooted in a sublime terroir of clay and limestone. Drawing inspiration from legends such as Lalou Bize-Leroy, Jean-François Ganevat, and Olivier Horiot, her first order of business at the winery was to convert all of its vineyards to biodynamic farming, in accordance with the Demeter certification. The existing old vines, averaging between 50 and 65 years, were all planted with selection massale and grafted in place—an incredibly rare find in Cahors.