Domaine La Grange Saint André 'Le Marmot' Rouge Vin de France 2019

Following a personal quest to create honest, natural wines, social worker-turned-winemaker Olivier Pichon moved south from Lyon with his wife and four children to create La Grange Saint André in 2015. The summers in Souvignargues, west of Nîmes, can be quite warm, though the nights remain cool thanks to proximity of the high peaks of Mont Aigoual and the Cévennes to the north and west. Olivier manages a small domaine of grenache, cinsaut, carignan, syrah, and grenache blanc vines 10-40 years old, planted on sandstone hillsides. Harvesting is done entirely by hand, and Olivier aims to intervene as little as possible in the vinification process. “Le Marmot” brings together 80% cinsault, 15% grenache, and 5% carignan, fermented initially whole-cluster and with no added sulphur. Fresh and juicy, with bright raspberry and cherry, notes of wild herbs and black pepper, and a touch of apple skin and saline, this is a light red made for summer. Organically grown, low-intervention/natural wine, vegan.