Producer · Rhone, France

Domaine du Coulet

Matthieu Barret is a seventh-generation grower in Cornas, in the northern Rhône. He studied in Beaune, joined his grandfather in 1997, and built up his own domaine from a plot of family vines, making his first wine in 2000.

He now has 11 hectares on steep granite terraces. The roots dig deep into the rock, so yields are small and the Syrah is powerful. The vines are certified organic and biodynamic, and since 2012 mules, horses and people have done the work instead of machines.

In the gravity-fed cellar he uses wild yeasts, concrete eggs and vats, and since 2017 no oak at all. Expect pure, deep Syrah with a mineral, peppery edge.

Syrah · £29.99 a bottle