Variety: Syrah

Continuing the 7th generation of his family in the small village of Cornas in the northern Rhone, Matthieu Barret made an intentional choice to shake things up in both the vineyard and the cellar. There he realized his love for organic viticulture and that’s where it began. He stopped using machines in the vineyard, encouraged a diversified environment around the vines, and used fewer barrels in the cellar. His mediums of choice are classic in the region—Syrah for the reds and Roussanne with Viognier for the whites. Of all the French allocated wines, the price points as well as the wines themselves are fairly accessible. Petit Ours Brun, aka little brown bear, is a nickname lovingly coined by Jura winemaker Stephane Tissot, eventually finding its way onto these sought after labels.

The Syrah for ‘Black Flag’ comes from a friend’s parcel in Ardeche, an hour’s drive from Cornas. Barret harvests the fruit and drives it in himself to the winery. It is completely destemmed and ages for 12 months in concrete. Since the wine is declassified as IGP, perhaps the illustration is a tongue in cheek jest at the anarchy of French wine law.