Gramenon’s 2024 Sierra du Sud is their lone Syrah bottling, drawn from 70-year-old vines on high-elevation, north-facing slopes in the northern outpost of the Southern Rhône, in Montbrison-sur-Lez. Named after an ancient Syrah clone, the wine is vivid and powerful, but also elegant too. 

Cassis, ripe fresh raspberry,  tapenade, delicate violet, and a hint of provençal herbs. Plush tannins and lively acidity carry the fruit with energy and lift. This is a classic, pure expression of Syrah from one of the Rhône’s most respected biodynamic estates.

Michèle Aubéry-Laurent and her son Maxime run Domaine Gramenon in Montbrison-sur-Lez, in the northern Rhône, producing some of the region’s most acclaimed natural wines. Michèle, a former nurse, brought the same care and conviction to the vineyard that she once gave her patients, stepping up to lead the estate after her husband Philippe’s tragic death in 1999. Today she and Maxime work 26 hectares of old and young vines, farming organically and biodynamically, while embracing a non-interventionist approach in the cellar. Using gravity-fed tanks, oak demi-muids and foudres, and bottling with minimal sulfur, the Laurents produce clean and precise wines of startling freshness and intensity. They are highly sought-after by lovers of the Rhône and natural wines alike.