Saved the Best for "Last": Jeremie Choquet's Natural Loire Malbec, "Last Cow"
Malbec can be so many things. Perhaps your mind goes first to dark-fruit, pseudo-smokey, Argentinian wines. But, this Malbec is something else entirely. In fact, you’ll find it drinks quite differently than most Cot from France.
Jeremie Choquet’s VdF, Last Cow just landed and it was a no-brainer for our shelves! It’s everything we look for when finding new wines at Flatiron: transparent winemaking, clean delicious wine, and a story.
The name Last Cow is a bit of a geeky/language pun. Jeremie and his wife live and tend their vines near an ancient cave system, the Lascaux Caves. The pun references that the ancient paintings within these caves show the earliest, oldest known cow. So our wine, here, is celebrating tradition and discovery, the Lascaux (pronounce “Lass-Cow”) Caves and the cows therein.
To put it simply, this bottle is the platonic ideal of Loire’s natural wine scene. It’s fresh and clean, informal, but grounded in its pure Loire-ness. What I mean by that is that it tastes like the best of what the Loire has to offer. You can taste the soil; it’s right there under the crunchy herbs and berries.
No added sulfur on this gorgeous quaffer. Huckleberries, mint and home-made jam drift up through the nose. And, right upon opening this bottle, my first sip was rich with blueberries, a touch of black pepper, and smattering of fresh green herbs. A smooth velvety texture ensures this is afternoon-into-evening wine.
The perfect wine to chill for a rooftop summer night or a winter afternoon. But, the long, clean finish reminds you that this is real wine, worth your time, without the high price.