2020 Sylvain Bock "Les Grelots" Rouge, Ardeche IGP, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

Grenache-Merlot-Syrah from limestone peppered with large chunks of basalt. Fifty yr old vines harvested, pressed and vinified separately. All grapes undergo whole cluster carbonic maceration followed by 2-3 wks of maceration and agingin in a mix of neutral barrel and stainless steel.

Each grape variety was harvested, vinified and aged apart. Grapes for each variety undergo whole cluster carbonic maceration for 2-3 weeks in mix of glass and steel vessels. The 3 varieties were blended in a tank in the end of June and bottled late July.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Pensive, introspective, yet prone to sudden bursts of enthusiasm, Sylvain Bock the person is much like the wines he makes. His wines project a careful complexity that is belied by their playful labels and Sylvain’s propensity to experiment through co-ferments and delayed releases if certain barrels take detours he does not expect.

He clearly loves this part of the world he has chosen to call home — which he describes as the North of the South of France — not only for its terroir of limestone and basalt, but also for the community he has found there among other winemakers such as Gerald Oustric of Le Mazel (who served as his ‘lightning rod’ for natural winemaking), Jérôme Jouret, Les Deux Terres and Anders Frederik Steen.

His position at the “northern limit of the South” influences virtually every decision he makes from extracting the delicate flower aromas at the “northern limit” of Carignan (in his Bascule) to choosing Chardonnay (à la fraîche...) as a variety that has proven resilient in the face of climate change, which is turning much of the winemaking world into “the South.”