I’m a huge fan of wine from Cahors, but I’ve never been able to figure out why. That is, until tonight.

I first tried the Château Haut-Monplaisir Prestige Cahors on its own, while I was cooking.

It’s quite tannic -  it sucks all the moisture from your mouth. Think of a really strong tea where the teabag has been left to linger and stew for 10 minutes.

Deep, dark, strong, slightly spicey and certainly not for the faint-hearted, this wine packs a punch.

Perfect wine for steak

However, when paired with steak, this Haut-Monplaisir Prestige takes on a completely different personality.

Instead of wanting to lead, it gets back in line and embarks on a Torvil and Dean-like partnership. Neither dominated nor dominating, this Cahors is a soulmate for a nice juicy steak.

The strong tannins allow it to hold it’s own against the strong steak proteins while the fruity acidity matches the juices of the steak.

Essence of food & wine matching

This highlights that most good wines are made to go with good food and that good wine can make good food even better.

The key for matching up food and wine isn’t all that complicated, yet isn’t as simple as fish with white, meat with red.

It’s all about body, weight or richness. I try to match the richness or the body of the food with the richness of the wine, so that the flavour of either is not lost in the strength of the other.

Where can you get it?

The Château Haut-Monplaisir Prestige Cahors 2004 is available from Dennison Fine Wines in Waterford for €20

More on Malbec from Cahors…

Exports of Cahors went up  6.3% in the first quarter of 2008. Interesting stat when most other French regions are decreasing in terms of market share.

Visit french-malbec.com for more information on Cahors wine.