Eric Texier is a jovial, energetic personality as much as he is a boundary pusher. He makes spellbinding Syrah and he makes allocated bag-in-box wine. He is a trailblazer, almost solely responsible for putting the region of Brézème back on the radar of Syrah enthusiasts. Brézème is situated between the Northern and Southern Rhone, and is exclusively planted to Syrah. Texier's wine tends towards minimal intervention, believing that the best wines are made in the vineyard. His Syrah is made using whole clusters, natural yeasts, with very gentle extraction. When we met, he summed up his stance on oak with the phrase, “I DETEST new oak.”  As much as the term “natural wine” can make fans of more classic style cringe, Texier's strength lies in making un-faulted natural wines with pure varietal fruit. His Brézème is powerful yet elegant, clean, with notes of violets, licorice, dark berries, black pepper, and garrigue, and smoked meats. I could continue to wax eloquent about Eric and his beautiful wines, but in the meantime I suggest you grab a bottle of this unique and delicious Syrah and let it speak for itself.