Cosse Maisonneuve

History of Domaine Cosse-Maisonneuve

The estate was founded in 1999 when two passionate individuals with complementary backgrounds crossed paths. Matthieu Cosse, a graduate oenologist from the Bordeaux Institute of Oenology and a former rugby player, brings technical rigor and an obsession with detail. Catherine Maisonneuve, who trained at Château Léoville-Las-Cases, embodies an idealistic and deeply agricultural vision of the craft. Together, they took over five leased hectares in the Cahors appellation with a single obsession: to prove that Malbec, here in its favored terroir, can produce truly great French red wines.

The progression was meteoric. The duo patiently expanded the property to around twenty hectares by seeking out exceptional plots that had often been left abandoned, such as the one that yields the legendary La Marguerite cuvée—named in tribute to Catherine's grandmother and reclaimed in 2001 after the forest had overgrown it. Single-parcel cuvées multiplied, followed by experiments with Cabernet Franc, Gamay, and even a white wine, an absolute rarity in the area. Today awarded two stars by the Guide de la Revue du Wine de France and four stars by Bettane & Desseauve, the estate is unanimously credited with reviving the Cahors appellation and securing Malbec's place among France's greatest reds.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Domaine Cosse-Maisonneuve

The vineyard extends along the outskirts of the appellation, across the magnificent clay-limestone plateaus of Quercy and the slopes overlooking the Lot. Three main soil families make up this mosaic: the scree and limestone plateaus of Lacapelle-Cabanac, which bring tension and minerality; the clay-gravel terraces, warmer and more generous; and above all, the famous siderolithic terroir on the heights of Prayssac, composed of red clays exceptionally rich in iron ore and dotted with rounded stones. This rare soil gives the wines their velvety texture and distinctive mineral character.

Malbec accounts for about 80% of the vineyard plantings, complemented by Cabernet Franc, as well as a small amount of Merlot, Gamay, Ugni White, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon. Part of the plantings comes from rigorous massal selections taken from very old, small-berried Malbec vines—some over a century old—identified here and there across the Lot. Biodynamics has guided all vineyard work since the beginning, achieving Demeter certification in the late 2000s: horn manure and horn silica preparations, homeopathic treatments, and living soils. The estate keeps five draft horses and a herd of about a dozen cows, essential for compost production and, according to Catherine Maisonneuve, for the vitality found in the wines. Yields are deliberately kept low, and harvesting is entirely manual, with sorting on tables.

Winemaking at Domaine Cosse-Maisonneuve

In the winery, the approach is deliberately low-intervention. Grapes enter the vats whole, and fermentations start exclusively with indigenous yeasts, without inoculation or correction. The duo seeks infusion rather than extraction: punch-downs are gentle and done by hand, and macerations are long—three to four weeks—in order to obtain ripe, fine tannins rather than harsh structure. It is precisely this choice that made it possible to reconcile Malbec, a naturally powerful and tannic grape variety, with elegance and drinkability.

Aging is long and remarkably precise, but never ostentatious. The estate uses no 100% new oak, preferring 225-liter barrels of second and third fill, as well as concrete vats and sandstone jars for the fresher cuvées. The duration ranges from fourteen months for the most approachable cuvées to over eighteen months—sometimes much longer in landmark vintages, where the wine itself decides when to be bottled. The wines are neither fined nor filtered and receive only a minimal dose of sulfur.

Domaine Cosse-Maisonneuve Cuvées

Cheval en Tête white: an absolute rarity in the area, this dry white comes from a 1.5-hectare plot co-planted with about 70% Ugni White and 30% Chardonnay and Sauvignon, on marl-limestone and Kimmeridgian soils at an altitude of 200 meters. Slow whole-cluster pressing, indigenous yeasts, and six months of aging on fine lees in small concrete vats and sandstone jars. A yellow hue with green highlights, a slightly honeyed grapefruit nose, a full and fresh palate of citrus and white flowers, with lovely bitter notes on the finish.

Cheval en Tête red: a nod to the estate's five draft horses and the horse leading the race, this Wine de France cuvée is the Malbec for immediate pleasure. Supple, generous, and juicy, it showcases violet and fresh fruits over a silky texture with perfect balance. An all-around wine offering unbeatable value for money.

Abstèmes s'Abstenir: the estate's most singular wine, a pure Gamay planted in Malbec country. It was a daring move. More structured than a classic Gamay, it retains vibrant fruit and delightful generosity, with the fleshy texture so characteristic of the domaine. A curiosity that has achieved cult status.

Le Combal: one of the brightest Cahors wines in the range, made from hand-harvested Malbec vinified for three weeks in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats before spending fourteen months in used barrels. A sap-filled Malbec, deep and digestible at once, with fine tannins and vibrant fruit, regularly rated around 92 out of 100 by the wine press.

La Fage: born from a clay-gravel terroir, this cuvée expresses itself generously right from its youth, with ripe black fruits, spices, and a round texture. Yet it displays all the hallmarks of a true terroir wine, with a density of substance and aging potential that place it well above its rank.

Le Petit Sid: crafted from a terroir located on the heights of Prayssac overlooking the Lot, on the famous siderolithic clays that gave it its name. The nose, refined and balanced, blends violet, blackcurrant, and blackberry against a well-integrated mineral and woody background. The palate is dense and long, with fine tannins of a stony, mouth-watering grain. A modern, elegant interpretation of the appellation.

Les Laquets: the quintessential Cahors of character, pure Malbec from roughly forty-year-old vines planted on a limestone plot. Long and distinguished, it unfolds an intense nose of fruit and spices, a dense palate marked by licorice and cedar, and a lingering finish perfectly balanced by precise, fine aging. The truest representation of the Cosse-Maisonneuve style, and a fine wine for cellaring.

La Marguerite: the prestige cuvée, hailing from a 2.5-hectare plot on the famous siderolithic terroir with red clays rich in iron ore. The soil, never treated or aggressively tilled for decades, had regained its primary biotope identity before the estate replanted two hectares of Malbec selected from century-old vines. The wine expresses rare fluidity, luminosity, and depth, where complexity rivals intensity. Regularly rated above 95 out of 100, it ranks among the greatest reds of Southwest France.

Carmenet: the estate's first Cabernet Franc cuvée, created in 2008 and released as Wine de France, as this variety is not permitted in the Cahors appellation. A Cabernet Franc of superb freshness, showing raspberry, pepper, and tobacco leaves, in the domaine's purest style—all tension and fine tannins.

Sidérolithe: a single-parcel micro-cuvée created in 2017, also under the Wine de France designation, made from Cabernet Franc planted on clays with a very high iron content. The result is stunning: aromas of black fruits and violet, a pure and subtly savory palate, and a velvety texture with a smoothness that immediately recalls fine Pomerols. The estate's rising star, produced in tiny quantities.