Located in the western corner of Cahors in the village of Lacapelle-Cabanac, third generation winemaker Benoit Aymard took over the reins of his small family domaine in 2014. It was somewhat run down, and it took some years to restructure and restore the vineyard. They now have 15ha under vine, dominated by Malbec, with a little old vine Segalin too, with the vineyards mostly located on the slopes above the Lot river on diverse soils with a high proportion of gravel and iron. Producing their first wine in 2018, he has farmed organically since day, with 2021 being the first vintage certified.
Benoit focuses on emphasising the beautiful fruit that Malbec can offer and moving away from the more austere or over extracted style Cahors and the grape Malbec are known for. In the cellar, vinification of the grapes is done naturally, without any inputs and entirely gravity fed, with wines maturing in a mix of concrete, stainless steel and barrel. As he comments ‘'I’m an oenologist, although this sounds a bit like ‘chemist’. What I like is to be in the vines and have fun in the cellar and experiment."
He enjoys drinking Gamay and Loire reds, and it's this freshness and drinkability that guides his decisions at harvest and in the cellar. In his first vintage, he thought the fruit was ripe so he harvested before anyone else had started. His ferments kicked off and still, no one else picking, and he admits that he began to doubt himself. And yet he produced wines that he was delighted with, at full phenolic ripeness, but in a style that he most enjoys. As he comments on his cuvee les Polissons (directly translating 'the naughty kids'!), "it's an affordable cuvee that can be sipped in front of a football match. I really want to achieve this kind of wine with Malbec!"