K-nom AOC 2024

Wine description for K-nom AOC 2024 by Clos Troteligotte

Colour & appearance

Medium-intensity purplish red – dark but not heavy, visually suggesting more juice than weight.

Nose

A Cahors to sip: juicy blueberries, cherries and plums, accompanied by a hint of ink, violets and cooling stone. A true Vin de Copains – fruit up front, minerality behind.

Palate

Juicy and easy-drinking, with powdery tannins, brisk acidity and crisp dark fruit. Only 12% alcohol – where Cahors often appears powerful, the K-nom remains agile and thirst-quenching.

Finish

Clean and fresh, the blue fruit lingers, joined by a fine chalky pull. A finale without any excess weight.

Terroir & origin

The clos lies like an island at 350 metres, surrounded by oak forests and wild meadows – a natural protective belt where sheep graze between the rows. The micro-parcels rest on clay-limestone with iron-rich siderolithic limestone as well as Kimmeridgian limestone from the Jurassic period, geologically related to Chablis and rich in fossils. This explains the minerality that is so unusual for Cahors.

Grape variety & vinification

85% Malbec – traditionally called Côt here – and 15% Merlot, hand-harvested with a yield of 50 hl/ha. After destemming, the wine ferments spontaneously; extraction remains gentle, maceration long. The short ageing takes place in a concrete vat, without fining or filtration; only at the very end are minimal total sulphites of 16 mg/l added.

Food recommendations

Born for hours at the grill: lamb chops, entrecôte, grilled sausages or mature Cantal. Also a safe bet with lentil dishes and mushroom pans.

Special features

The classic entry point into Emmanuel Rybinski’s cuvée alphabet – and at the same time a counterpoint to the historic “black wine” of Cahors: dark in colour, yet offering freshness and tension instead of a wall of tannins. Demeter-certified since 2017, working with horn manure, compost teas and spontaneous fermentation – biodynamics that you can taste here in the glass as lightness.