Grenache, Merlot & Syrah, Ardèche, France

A savoury, dense and zero-zero French beauty for the wild ones. Since leaving his former mentor Gerald Oustric of Le Mazel, Sylvain Bock has settled in the town of Alba-la-Romaine, acquired eight hectares of organically certified vines, and begun producing his intensely TASTY and compelling lineup. His vines are spread across two terroirs: limestone in the south and basalt further north on the slopes of an extinct volcano. FUN FACT! He treats the vines with horsetail decoctions and herbal teas to stimulate the plant's natural defences, allowing him to reduce copper sprays! ‘Les Grelots’ or “the bells”, is a blend of 50-year-old vines all grown on limestone with basalt and includes, spiced grenache (40%), darkly-berried merlot (40%) and savoury syrah (20%), all picked by hand and whole-cluster carbonically macerated for two to three weeks to LIFT and lighten, before one year aging in neutral barrique. Spiced sour cherry pie, smoke mingles with violet florals and perky VA (volatile acidity), smouldering tobacco, pulling up your leather bootstraps, mushrooms on a log, black pepper & a patch of tayberries. Pour alongside AC/DC's 1980 album Back in Black, with special repeats of ‘Hells Bells’ so long as the bottle holds out.