Was it only yesterday I was on holiday in Cahors in south west France’s Lot Valley? So it seems, but it was in fact 10 years ago that I took myself there on holiday with a case of Châteauneuf-du-Pape just to be on the safe side. The local plonk might be ok for washing down everyday fare, but what when my friends and I fancied something decent to drink? In the spring this year, I returned to the scene of my criminal lack of confidence in the local wine to attend something rather grandiosely called the Journées Internationales du Malbec. It was three convivial days of discussion, tasting, wining and dining and I could scarcely believe the progress made by Cahors in the space of a decade.

You could be forgiven for not taking this progress on board as you gaze at the lazy Lot River as it loops like a lazy python in a series of horseshoe bends on its way to the Atlantic. With its medieval bridges, cobbled streets and imposing stone châteaux that sit proudly on top of the high limestone banks overlooking the river, today’s Cahors, once a banking centre, is one of South West France’s most unspoilt, medieval towns. First impressions are of a Lilliputian country town with attitudes to match. Walk to the other side of the turreted Pont Valentré though and the river rushes over a weir at breakneck speed. Like the wine, it’s making up for lost time.

Cahors has cunningly have teamed up with Argentina as a way of fast-tracking its progress. Why Argentina? Because it was to Argentina that the malbec grape, the principal consituent of Cahors, was taken way back in the 19th century along with a host of other Bordeaux vines. Since that time, Argentina, with its sun-drenched upland vineyards, has turned malbec into a resounding international success. Flexible legislation that now allows Cahors to proclaim malbec on the label has repaid the favour, allowing Cahors to drag itself by Argentina’s coat tails into the 21st century.

Not only is Cahors distinct from and its neighbours to the west in Bordeaux and the south in the Languedoc, but thanks to its upbringing, its malbec is a somewhat different animal from Argentina’s. Where Argentinian malbec’s struggle lies in containing its propensity to put on puppy fat and power, Cahors’ has the opposite challenge: how to avoid anorexic leanness and astringency from the wetter, cooler conditions of the lot Valley and its clay and limestone terraces. When the sun shines on Cahors though, as it did in 2005, and to an extent in 2001, 2003 and 2007, the Lot Valley’s marginal climate is a bonus, producing wines of generous proportions and flavours in the dark cherry and damson plum mould, yet still with a savoury bite and the ability to age without losing their fruit.

Because the perception lags behind the reality, Cahors is often still regarded as a wine that needs an aeon or two to soften. Sometimes it does. But the Cadurciens, as the good people of Cahors are known for some reason, are now paying much more attention to the detail of what goes on in the vineyard, harvesting the grapes riper and bringing improved winemaking techniques to the wines to reduce the old rustic element. Among the best are Château du Cèdre (Les Caves de Pyrene: 01483 554750; and Great Western Wines: 01225 322810), Cosse Maisonneuve (Genesis: 020 7963 9068), Lamartine (Imperial Wines: 01986 892911), La Berangeraie (The Vine Trail: 01179 211770), Gaudou (Majestic), Lagrezette (Laithwaites: 0870 444 8383), Château Pineraie (D.Byrne: 01200 423152) and Clos Triguedina (Waitrose).

The 2004 Clos Triguedina, The Black Wine, £32, Waitrose, is a remarkably rich, blackberry jam malbec with vanilla undertones and an almost Argentinian accent while the 2005 Château Lagrézette Cru D’Exception, £14.99, Laithwaites displays smoky oak aromas and rich sour cherry and damson fruitiness. Chateau du Cèdre’s berry-fruity, vanilla-toned 2004 Prestige Cahors is also good at £11.95, Lea & Sandeman, Great Western Wine. It’s a shame that more retailers haven’t been quicker to cotton onto the excellent 2005 vintage, but when it does come on stream, all the properties I’ve mentioned are going to be worth buying for their exceptional wines in this vintage. On my next visit, I certainly won’t be needing the Châteauneuf-du-Pape standby any longer.