Matthieu Barret Crozes-Hermitage La Banniere 2024

Matthieu Barret Crozes-Hermitage La Banniere 2024

Domaine du Coulet
$34.00

Grape: Syrah
Vintage: 2024
Type: Red

This Northern Rhône syrah is sourced from organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards within the Les Chassis sub-region. Seventh-generation winemaker Matthieu Barret targets low yields on clay-limestone soils scattered with smooth river pebbles to lock in fruit density. The hand-harvested grapes undergo a spontaneous native fermentation using sixty percent whole bunches and forty percent destemmed fruit inside concrete tanks. The winemaking avoids modern oak influence, focusing entirely on preserving a fresh, juicy regional expression.

It pours a dark ruby color, releasing classic aromatics of violets, cracked black pepper, and fresh olive tapenade. On the palate, the medium-bodied frame is fruit-forward and energetic, delivering a crunchy texture filled with blackberry and plum. A clean thread of limestone-driven acidity cuts right through the center, keeping the mouthfeel light. Remarkably smooth tannins shape the mid-palate cleanly, making the wine highly approachable in its youth. It finishes long, dry, and slightly savory.

Winery

Matthieu Barret has worked at Domaine du Coulet in Cornas since 1998, building his wines around the family’s steep vineyards of weathered granite. Syrah is the central grape, with the estate’s hillside parcels supplying Cornas and Côtes du Rhône bottlings. Organic and biodynamic farming, attention to the land around the vines and small-scale vineyard work form the basis of his approach. The goal is to let the grapes and their sites remain recognizable through wines with little unnecessary cellar intervention.

Barret has increasingly favored concrete and other neutral vessels, reducing oak’s influence and allowing Syrah’s fruit and savory character to take the foreground. Native-yeast fermentation and restrained sulfur use continue the vineyard philosophy in the cellar. Domaine du Coulet bottlings such as Brise Cailloux express the estate itself, while wines under the Matthieu Barret label broaden the range through sourced fruit and collaborations. Petit Ours and Et la Bannière therefore belong to the same winemaking world without representing exactly the same vineyard source as the Cornas wines.