Clot de L’Origine ‘Le P’tit Barriot’ Blanc

Region: Roussillon < France          

Grapes: Syrah                

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: certified organic farming, clay, limestone and shale soils, unfined & unfiltered, bottled by hand, minimal added So2 at bottling; 12% ABV

Winemaker: Marc Barriot

WHY IS THIS A UNICORN?  This is pure Syrah, but instead of the expected claret red color, it is as crystal clear as an alpine stream…Syrah vinified white!

Marc Barriot came to wine later in life but once he found it, he jumped in the deep end. His journey to starting Clot de l’Origine led him to Australia, the US, and all over France. After apprenticing in Bandol for four years he scooted southwest around the Mediterranean coast to the town of Maury in the Roussillon, finally finding a plot of land and a place he could settle down. He started with just one vineyard with old vines, but now has 17 in total, all farmed organically from the very beginning. Nothing else is added in the winemaking process except a tiny amount of sulfur. Marc had been making his entry level ‘Le P’tit Barriot’ into an inky red, chewy and well-loved red wine but just a couple years ago shifted gears and turned some of the production into a blanc de noir – or a white wine made from red grapes. Winemaking precision is required for little tricks like this! – the grapes must be pressed directly and spend as little contact with the skins as possible, so they don’t pick up any color. Since he doesn’t filter or add anything else to the wine, Marc had to be even more on it to make this work. And it does! It is tart, and red-fruited, but crystalline, as if the essence of Syrah was distilled into a snowflake.  Super delicious and intellectual, guaranteed to impress your wine geek friends…