Matthieu Barret Black Flag Ardèche

In the heart of France’s Northern Rhône, Matthieu Barret is something of a viticultural sorcerer. While his legendary Domaine du Coulet wines hail from Cornas, Black Flag is crafted from biodynamically farmed Syrah in Ardèche—by the dry, scrubby foothills of the Cévennes mountains.

This is Syrah stripped back to its wild, rhythmic heart. Aged 12 months in concrete eggs and used oak, then rested another year in tank, it’s a wine that moves to its own beat: fresh, silky, and pulsing with dark energy.

The nose is a moonlit walk through the garrigue: black olive tapenade, crushed dried violet petals, iron-rich blood, and smoked peppercorn twisting around a core of macerated dark fruit. The palate is savoury and meaty—not heavy, but haunting. It doesn’t shout; it lingers.

This is natural wine as incantation. Drink it with wood-grilled lamb rubbed with rosemary, wild mushroom stew, or under a full moon with no one but the stars for company.

Waves a black flag. Wins every heart.