Andrea Calek Chatons de Garde 2018

Chatons de Garde is Andrea Calek's barrel-aged Syrah from his 5-hectare estate in Alba-la-Romaine, southern Ardeche. The vines are 25 to 55 years old, planted in calcareous clay soils between the villages of Valvigneres and Alba-la-Romaine. The estate is Ecocert certified and farmed without synthetic inputs.

Whole bunches undergo a 21-day carbonic maceration, then the wine is aged in old 228-litre Burgundy barrels that have seen anywhere from 12 to 20 previous uses. This approach extracts texture and fruit without imposing oak character. No sulfites are added at any stage; the wine goes to bottle unfined and unfiltered.

The 2018 is labeled Vin de France, giving Calek flexibility outside the IGP framework. It shows the structured, food-driven side of his range: firm but fine tannins, lively acidity, and a profile that lands somewhere between a northern Rhone Syrah and something wilder and more immediate.

Chatons de Garde translates loosely as 'guardian kittens,' named for the cats that roam the estate. The back label reads 'Deconseille aux chiennes' ('Not recommended for female dogs') a characteristic provocation from Calek.