2018 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône Brézème Rouge

Region: France, Rhône
Farming: Organic
Grape Varieties: Syrah

Dry, med-bodied red; raspberries, fresh | Offal yakitori 

Inspired by the style of 1970s Côte-Rôtie, Eric's Syrah rarely drops below 6 g/litre of tartaric acid. All his reds are vinified in whole clusters, so to ensure the stems are ripe he refuses to plough between the rows and regularly sows cover crops.

Eric Texier made the unprecedented leap from nuclear engineer to winemaker in the early 1990s. In keeping with his rigorous academic background, he studied oenology in Bordeaux. While learning the ropes in the Mâcon at Verget by day, he burned the midnight oil reading handbooks and manuals from the 19th century to learn about long-lost styles and vinification techniques.

Brézème captured Eric's imagination as this once notorious appellation, rivaling the status of Hermitage, had dwindled to one hectare under vine by 1961. Located on the east bank at the southernmost tip of the Northern Rhône with clay-limestone soils, the area has a unique microclimate resulting from the cooling influence of the Vercors Massif and an altitude of 300 metres. Eric's annual production is around 20,000 bottles in total. 

Find out more here.