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Fortified sweet
This is a unique fortified wine, produced from the fruit of 30-year-old vines growing on high terraces with ancient alluvial deposits of the Lot River, formed 500,000 years ago. It is made using the mutage method — during fermentation, pure neutral spirit (96% alc. by volume) is added to preserve the natural sweetness.
The wine is aged for one year in 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old barrels, which lend it complexity. With 110 g/l of residual sugar and 17% alcohol, this wine becomes a true Port-style Malbec expression, revealing the intense character of the Cahors region.
Serve at 12–14 °C with cherry pastries, chocolate cupcakes or enjoy as an aperitif.
Léon Verhaeghe is born in the small town of Moorslede in the Flemish region of Belgium. When WW1 is declared in 1914 and the country is annexed, Léon is among the millions of Belgians who flee to the France. Later, his son, Charles Verhaeghe, meets Marie-Thérèse Rives, whose family owns a traditional multi-crop farm in Vire-sur-Lot. While cultivating the land and his love for it, he develops a growing desire to expand the scope of his practice. He watches with fascination as some of his neighbours transform their grapes: his project is clear. He too wants to produce his own wine.The couple continue their multi-crop farming activities and plant their first hectare of vines alongside the lavender in 1958. This piece of land, characterised by limestone scree cones, forms part of the great terroir we know today. 1973 sees the result of all the hard work. Self-taught, Charles and Marie Thérèse Verhaeghe carry out their first wine bottling, alongside their usual distillation of lavender. When Charles is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1987, the work becomes too difficult. His sons, Pascal and Jean-Marc, decide to return to the estate to help him. Pascal, trained in viticulture and winemaking at Jean-Marie Guffens and then in Napa Valley, and Jean-Marc, a graduate of La Tour Blanche in Sauternes, have the necessary knowledge and desire to manage the vineyard. Working in synergy, they inject their enthusiasm into the business and constantly experiment. Quality becomes the absolute priority.With this common goal, they share the work: Jean-Marc makes cultivating the vines his speciality and Pascal devotes himself to making, maturing, and marketing the wine. In fifteen years, they take Château du Cèdre to the top of the Cahors appellation.
