Principal red grape

Malbec

mahl-BEK

How to read this

Capitals mark the stressed syllable. The recording is the reference.

Malbec, called Cot in the rules, is a black grape that DNA markers show is a cross of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Prunelard, and a principal red grape of Bordeaux.

Malbec is a black grape, and the Bordeaux AOC rules list it as “cot N (ou malbec)”. DNA markers show that it is a cross of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Prunelard, as Jean-Michel Boursiquot and colleagues published in 2009. Magdeleine Noire des Charentes is also a parent of Merlot, so Malbec is Merlot’s half-sibling. VIVC, the variety catalog of the Julius Kühn-Institut, also records a 2021 study that found Magdeleine Noire des Charentes alone, and asks for more markers. Malbec has offspring of its own: DNA markers show that Jurançon Noir is a cross of Malbec and Folle Blanche.

Its old names point to the Lot. M. de Secondat, Montesquieu’s son, whose Histoire du chêne of 1785 carried a long memoir on the vine and the wines of Guyenne, wrote that it formed the base of the good vineyards of Cahors. He credited its spread to M. Lukens, a Bordeaux doctor who had planted much of it at Camblanes, and added: “Mr. Malbeck had planted a great deal of it in the Médoc” (“M. Malbeck en avait planté beaucoup en Médoc”). So reported Auguste Petit-Lafitte, professor of agriculture of the Gironde, in La vigne dans le Bordelais (1868). He noted that parts of the Gironde called it “Quercy”, “Cahors”, and “Estrangey”, the stranger.

By 1816 André Jullien, author of the Manuel du sommelier, listed “le malbek ou noir de Pressac” in his Topographie de tous les vignobles connus. He wrote that the “carmenet”, the “carmenère”, the “malbek”, and the “verdot” alone peopled the Médoc vineyards of the first red wines, and that the “vidures” and the “malbek” made the good wines of Saint-Émilion and Fronsac. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, kept the Libournais name beside the Médoc one. In 1922 the guide gave La Conseillante as one third Merlot and one third “malbec ou noir de Pressac”.

The turn came in the 20th century. Figures from Galet’s Cépages et vignobles de France, as presented by Julia Riffault in 2017, give Bordeaux 5,327 hectares of Malbec in 1958 and 1,449 in 1988. A 2024 Wine Scholar Guild textbook ties the fall to the severe winter freeze of 1956, which it says killed much of the Malbec. The same Galet and FranceAgriMer series counts 1,070.6 hectares in 1999 and 1,319 in 2015.

Oldest record in my library: M. de Secondat, Histoire du chêne, 1785, as reported by Auguste Petit-Lafitte, La vigne dans le Bordelais, 1868; the earliest direct record in my library is André Jullien, Topographie de tous les vignobles connus, 1816

The family

Magdeleine Noire des Charentes shown by DNA markers

Prunelard shown by DNA markers

Malbec

Jurançon Noir shown by DNA markers

Boursiquot et al. 2009, AJGWR 15:144-155; VIVC 2889
ENTAV-ITV catalog 2007; Lacombe et al. 2013; VIVC 5862

The discovery: In 2009, Jean-Michel Boursiquot and colleagues published DNA marker evidence that Malbec is a cross of Magdeleine Noire des Charentes and Prunelard.

The names

As the Gironde books wrote it: Malbeck, Malbech, malbek, malbeh, Luetkens, Lutkens, noir de Pressac, Nègre-Préchac, pied rouge, Pied-Rouget, côte rouge, pied de perdrix, Gourdoux, Estrangey.

Other names in VIVC: Auxerrois, Balouzat, Bordelais Noir, Bouchales, Cahors, Cauly, Chalosse Petite Noire, Cot A Queue Rouge, Cot A Queue Verte, Cot De Bordeaux, Estrangey, Etranger, Gourdaux, Gros Auxerrois.

Old names: Auxerrois (likely), Balouzat (open), Cahors (open), Chalosse noire (open), Cruchinet (open), Gros noir (likely), Hourcat (open), Noir de Pressac (settled), Parde (open), Prolongeau (open)

In today’s rules

Principal (red) in 29 of the appellations and designations on this site; principal (rosé) in 1; principal (sparkling) in 1.

Principal · red: Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Bordeaux (red and clairet), Bordeaux Supérieur, Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux, Canon Fronsac, Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg, Entre-deux-Mers, Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, Fronsac, Graves, Graves de Vayres, Haut-Médoc, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Listrac-Médoc, Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Margaux, Montagne-Saint-Émilion, Moulis, Médoc, Pauillac, Pessac-Léognan, Pomerol, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion, Saint-Estèphe, Saint-Julien, Saint-Émilion, Sainte-Foy Côtes de Bordeaux
Principal · rosé: Bordeaux
Principal · sparkling: Crémant de Bordeaux

Area planted

5,327 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 1958
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
4,855 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 1968
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
2,148 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 1979
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
1,449 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 1988
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
1,070.6 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 1999
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
1,319 ha planted area, Bordeaux/Gironde, 2015
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides 'Évolution à Bordeaux de 1958 à 2015'; source printed on slides: 'Cépages et vignobles de France, Tome III, Galet 2006 + données France AgriMer 2017', https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed 2026-10-12
127 % increase change in planted area since 2000, as the Wine Scholar Guild reports, Bordeaux, 2000-c.2022
Wine Scholar Guild / M. Gorman-McAdams MW, Bordeaux Masters study manual, 5th edition (2024), Unit 2, pp. 41-47 (secondary textbook)

Stands out at

In the books

“planted with the best vines, such as the Bouchet, the Merlot, and the Noir de Pressac”
complantés des meilleurs cépages , tels que le Bouchet , le Merlot et le Noir de Pressac

Clos-Fourtet, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (2e éd.) (1868), 1868

“is planted with fine vines: 36 hectares of cabernet, 10 hectares of malbec and merlot, 7 hectares of petit verdot.”
est complanté de cépages fins : 36 hect de cabernet , 10 hect . de malbec et merlot , 7 hect , de petit verdot .

Château-Lanessan, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (5e éd.) (1886), 1886

“The vineyard covers about 20 of them on clay and limestone soil, planted in thirds with cabernet, malbec, and merlot”
Le vignoble en occupe environ 20 sur un sol argilo-calcaire, complanté par tiers en cabernet, malbec et merlot

Château-Montaiguillon, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (7e éd.) (1898), 1898

“This excellent vineyard, one of the foremost of the commune, is planted as follows: 1/3 merlot, 1/3 malbec or noir de Pressac, 1/6 cabernet-franc, 1/6 cabernet-sauvignon.”
Cet excellent vignoble , un des premiers de la commune , est cépagé comme suit : 1/3 merlot , 1/3 malbec ou noir de pressac , 1/6 cabernet - franc , 1 / 6cabernet - sauvignon .

Conseillante (note 1 on the Pomerol 1ers crus page), Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (6e éd.) (1893), 1893, p. 418

My library records it planted at 376 estates, and 35 of them have a page here:

Timeline

1572Jean Liébault names 'samoireau', a black vine Galinié traces to plants brought from Cahors to Fontainebleau in 1532-1539; he argues it is the Côt.
Henri Galinié, 'Les noms Samoireau et Côt dans les vignobles du Val de Loire (16e-19e s.)', Recherches sur l'histoire des cépages de Loire 4, 2016, HAL halshs-01362338
1816Jullien describes 'le malbek ou noir de Pressac' among the Gironde's red vines.
André Jullien, Topographie de tous les vignobles connus, 1st ed., 1816, ch. XX 'Guienne et Gascogne', §I Gironde, pp. 198-201
1845The ampelographer Odart chooses the Loire name 'Côt' for the variety, the name later kept internationally.
Henri Galinié, 'Les noms Samoireau et Côt dans les vignobles du Val de Loire (16e-19e s.)', Recherches sur l'histoire des cépages de Loire 4, 2016, HAL halshs-01362338
1869Phylloxera is found on vine roots at Floirac, near Bordeaux, on June 11, 1869; the vines had looked sick for 2 or 3 years.
Charles Cocks & Édouard Féret, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite, 5th ed., 1886, section 'Phylloxera', p. 35 (same text in the 1883 English ed., and 6th ed. 1893)
1956A severe winter freeze kills much of Bordeaux's Malbec, which is replaced by Merlot, as the Wine Scholar Guild reports (2024).
Wine Scholar Guild / M. Gorman-McAdams MW, Bordeaux Masters study manual, 5th edition (2024), Unit 2, pp. 41-47 (secondary textbook)
2013Parentage published: Prunelard × Magdeleine Noire des Charentes.
Lacombe et al. 2013 (#327), as cited in Henri Galinié, 'Les noms Samoireau et Côt dans les vignobles du Val de Loire (16e-19e s.)', Recherches sur l'histoire des cépages de Loire 4, 2016, HAL halshs-01362338

In the lab

More than 1,139 studies and theses in the Bordeaux Reviews library mention this grape.

Natural genetic variation for fruit set rate within Malbec grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) clones
Luciano Calderón, Silvina van Houten, Claudio Muñoz, Tomás Oroño, Laura Bree, et al., 2025
Diploid genome assembly of the Malbec grapevine cultivar enables haplotype-aware analysis of transcriptomic differences underlying clonal phenotypic variation
Luciano Calderón, P. Carbonell-Bejerano, Claudio Muñoz, Laura Bree, Cristóbal Sola, et al., 2024
Assessing the influence of climate change and clonal diversity on berry composition of Malbec
Etienne Neethling, Elisabeth Besnard, Francis Laffargue, François Relhie, Cornelis van Leeuwen, Agnès Destrac-Irvine, Amber Parker, 2024
Characterization of varietal effects on the acidity and pH of grape berries for selection of varieties better adapted to climate change
Marc Plantevin, Yoann Merpault, Julien Lecourt, Agnès Destrac-Irvine, Lucile Dijsktra, Cornelis van Leeuwen, 2024
Whole genome resequencing and custom genotyping unveil clonal lineages in 'Malbec' grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.)
Luciano Calderón, N. Mauri, Claudio Muñoz, P. Carbonell-Bejerano, Laura Bree, et al., 2021

Sources

Röckel et al. (2026): Vitis International Variety Catalogue, www.vivc.de, accessed October 2026 (passport 2889, Cot; pedigree bibliography)
Boursiquot, J.-M., Lacombe, T., Laucou, V., et al., 'Parentage of Merlot and related winegrape cultivars of southwestern France: discovery of the missing link', Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research 15 (2):144-155, 2009, doi 10.1111/j.1755-0238.2008.00041.x
Lacombe, T., Boursiquot, J.-M., Laucou, V., et al., 'Large-scale parentage analysis in an extended set of grapevine cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.)', Theoretical and Applied Genetics 126 (2):401-414, 2013, doi 10.1007/s00122-012-1988-2 (Jurançon Noir edge, with ENTAV-ITV 2007 and VIVC 5862)
INAO, cahier des charges AOC Bordeaux, section V.1 'Encépagement', https://extranet.inao.gouv.fr/fichier/CDC-Bordeaux.pdf, accessed October 2026
Petit-Lafitte 1868 on J.-B. Secondat de Montesquieu, son of the author of L'Esprit des lois, and his Histoire du chêne printed in 1785
Auguste Petit-Lafitte, La vigne dans le Bordelais, 1868, pp. 153-156
Almanach du buveur, 1870, and Cocks, Bordeaux et ses vins, 1874, publisher's lists: 'Auguste Petit-Lafitte, professeur d'agriculture du département de la Gironde'
André Jullien, Topographie de tous les vignobles connus, 1st ed., 1816, ch. XX, Gironde, pp. 198-201 (title page: 'Auteur du Manuel du Sommelier')
Charles Cocks & Édouard Féret, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (2e éd.) (1868) (Clos-Fourtet)
Charles Cocks & Édouard Féret, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (5e éd.) (1886) (Lanessan)
Charles Cocks & Édouard Féret, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (7e éd.) (1898) (Montaiguillon)
Charles Cocks & Édouard Féret, Bordeaux et ses vins classés par ordre de mérite (9e éd.) (1922) (La Conseillante)
Julia Riffault, 'Recensement, préservation et valorisation des cépages modestes du Bordelais', Rencontres des cépages modestes, November 11, 2017, slides citing Galet, Cépages et vignobles de France, t. III (2006) and FranceAgriMer 2017, https://rencontres-des-cepages-modestes.com/rencontres/2017/2017_documents/cepagemodestes_bordelais.pdf, accessed October 2026
Wine Scholar Guild / Mary Gorman-McAdams MW, Bordeaux Masters study manual, 5th edition, 2024, Unit 2, pp. 36-47 (secondary textbook), p. 42 (1956 freeze)
Röckel et al. (2026): Vitis International Variety Catalogue, www.vivc.de, accessed October 2026

Every grape

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