August 4, 2014, Sebastopol, CA – Internationally renowned winemaker and malbec specialist Paul Hobbs and Bertrand Vigouroux, whose family has been producing wine in Cahors, France since the 1860s, have announced a new partnership: Crocus Malbec de Cahors. Paul and Bertrand are excited to bring New World innovation and Old World tradition together in redefining Malbec de Cahors.
Paul’s work with malbec in Mendoza, Argentina brought worldwide attention to the variety, and provided inspiration for new styles to emerge. The Vigouroux family has over 150 years of experience with malbec in Cahors, where the grape has flourished since Roman times. Crocus blends a single malbec clone grown on three historic Vigouroux family properties on distinct terraces of the Lot River Valley. These include Haute-Serre, Leret-Monpezat and Mercués.
2011 Crocus Malbec de Cahors (SRP $45) is available immediately throughout the US with a total production of 1,250 cases. Paul Hobbs Imports is the sole US importer.
“Having spent 25 years evolving malbec winegrowing and winemaking in Argentina, it is a thrill to be working in the homeland of malbec with Bertrand Vigouroux, whose family has deep roots in the region,” says Hobbs.
The new wine brand is named after the Crocus flower, a type of iris which grows prominently around Cahors and blooms in early spring.
About Paul Hobbs Imports
Paul Hobbs Imports was founded in 1994 and is a division of Paul Hobbs Wines. PHI was the first importer to successfully import Argentine malbec to the US. Focused on quality and innovation, PHI currently imports Felino, Bramare and Cobos wines from Hobbs’ own Argentine winery, Viña Cobos, as well as other Argentine wines of distinction including Pulenta Estate, Riglos, Finca 8, and Alto Limay, in addition to Viña Pérez Cruz from Chile and Stratus from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
