A guest writes (2)

Côt, pronounced like "go", forget about the t, is the original name for the Malbec grape. It is still called côt in the Touraine, the home of Rabelais. Indeed côt wine is Rabelaisian. It is, as the French say, a vin du terroir, rustic, ballsy with lots of character and further, as they would say on the Rue des Rosiers, it has lots of punim. Wine snobs tend to be rude about côt, calling it a watered down version of merlot, or a rude substitute for pinot noir. Well, let them spend their money elsewhere and leave côt as a secret for Slotovino.
Specifically, I recommend the côt of the Chateau de la Presle. At €6.50 retail from Les Caves du Marais the 2006 is formidable. Its low notes have guts of tannin, but not too much. The middle notes are of full fruit, especially morello cherries, griottes. The high notes are of pepper. Sexist I may be; this is a masculine wine. Not rough, not tough, just muscular......
There is a biologique côt produced by Thierry Puzelat which costs twice as much. Just because it is biologique does not mean that it is good. It is inferior to the Presle. You can't go to heaven in a Ford Coupé 'cos the Lord's got shares in Chevrolet. Presle is the Chevrolet.

The second in an occasional series. prizes for the first reader to guess the identity of the guest (conditions apply).