Matthieu Barret, 'Black Flag' IGP Ardeche Syrah 2021

Matthieu Barret is the 7th generation vigneron, joining his grandfather in Cornas in 1997.  But Barret is hardly one to rest on his laurels and blindly adopt the wisdom of the generation before him.  Beginning with his first vintage in 2000, Matthieu worked principally in the vineyard, applying his hand with organic viticulture. Not content with his end result, in 2006 he decided to radically change his vinification process by using less barrels and replacing them with concrete eggs.  In 2012, he stopped using machines in Cornas and replaced them with mules, horses, and manual labor. 

“Black Flag” comes from Vincent Fargier (Domaine Les Deux Terres), certified organic and biodynamic estate from Ardèche. It is 1 single parcel located at 300m altitude. Barret himself harvests and brings the grapes to his winery. The estate is located 1 hour driving distance from Cornas.  The fruit is 100% destemmed and macerated for 15 days in stainless stel, then pressed and aged another 12 months in concrete. The wine is very lightly sulfured only at bottling.