2021 Andréa Calek Babiole

WINEMAKER: Andréa Calek
REGION: Ardèche, FR
VARIETAL: Grenache, Syrah, Merlot
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

Grenache, syrah and merlot with 10 days maceration before being pressed to stainless steel. The wine is fuller and juicier than the A Toi Nous with similar spicy notes. Like all the wines, Babiole is unfined and unfiltered with no SO2 - can be enjoyed over two days with ease.

The internet is awash with stories about Andréa Calek. Did you know he was a deserter from the Czech army, then went to jail before returning to France? That he has a fleet of vintage Citroën CX! That he has a mohawk and smokes cigarettes! Wild stuff. Because we all love nothing more than to paint someone as the punk of an industry like wine. But it’s all noise that detracts from the truth and purity of what’s in the glass, the honest product of four hectares of vines in the commune of Alba-la-Romaine. The wines he makes are almost entirely from estate-grown fruit (with the exception of Viognier and Marsanne), Biodynamic and made without additives. His partner Stefana Nicolescu shares the workload of the viticulture and wine-making.