Mattheiu Barret 'Black Flag' Syrah

Remember when we talked about Stephane Tissot a few weeks back? It reminded me of his old friend, Mattheiu so I was super stoked when some of the allocation came in. DRUM ROLL - allow me to introduce you to Mattheiu Barret. Aka petit ours brun (little brown bear) - a nickname that Stephane Tissot gave him years ago! See how I brought that full-circle?  Cute story aside - this man and his wines are sooooo expressive!

A 7th generation winemaker, Matthieu joined his grandfather in 1998 working in the vineyards. While the family had been growing predominantly organic, Matthieu changed everything to fully organic with his first vintage in 2000. Constantly seeking, he moved from predominately barrel to mostly concrete egg in 2006 (he still uses barrel when he feels the vintage needs it). He’s a seeker - curious and always wanting to allow the grapes to tell their own story and it shows. 20-years ago, he removed all machines and uses only mules, horses and manual labor (mostly himself).

Soon thereafter, he began to create ‘green spaces’ around the farm, digging watering holes to nourish an ecosystem with a diversity of species - vines in the forest surrounded by life! His belief that 

the plant is happier in a wild environment rather than in a “desert comprised of only vines”. And when the vineyard biome is treated with respect, true balance is easier to maintain and you can taste it - his wines are super pure expressions of this place - Syrah like you’ve never experienced before.

His belief that ….”the grape holds this magic within and it's up to us not to destroy it“.... it is everything we hold dear at Molly’s!

‘Black Flag’ is all serious Syrah from Ardeche (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) then playful and fun to remind you that wine is just that - FUN!! Grown on clay and limestone soils, the 20+ year-old vines sit at around 300m elevation about an hour’s drive (on winding, single lane roads) from Cornas. Handpicked & sorted grapes are destemmed then see about 15 days of skin maceration. The wine is gently pressed into concrete eggs and used oak barrels to finish fermentations. Its journey continues with another year in concrete tanks before bottling. 

Silky and almost delicate, and yet so damn juicy! Super ripe blackberries and plums with hints of tapenade & black pepper - gloriously and exactly what Syrah should taste like from this place! balanced acidity and chewy tannins!! HELL YES - is my honest opinion 

Oh and the super-cute bears on his labels pay homage to his nickname.