Anders Frederik Steen AFS Don't Throw Plastic 2015

Don't Throw Plastic in the Ocean, Please is a Vin de France red from Anders Frederik Steen, made from 20% Grenache Noir, 30% Carignan, and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon grown in Valvignères, southern Ardèche. The vineyards sit on clay and limestone soils and have been farmed organically and biodynamically for decades, most of them tended in collaboration with Gérald and Jocelyne Oustric of Domaine du Mazel.

The 2015 vintage was the first heatwave year Steen experienced as a winemaker, comparable in intensity to 2003. To manage the richness of the fruit, he used more direct-press juice and fewer destemmed grapes than in cooler years. The Cabernet Sauvignon is pressed directly without maceration, while the Grenache Noir and Carignan are destemmed and spend 10 days on skins. The components ferment together with native yeasts, are aged in fibreglass vats, and were bottled in May without fining, filtration, or added sulfites.

The label was printed in 12 languages, one per bottle in a cardboard box, an expression of Steen's practice of using his wine labels to carry direct messages to the people who open them. No appellation rules apply; this is declassified as Vin de France, giving Steen full flexibility over varieties and winemaking decisions.