Didier Cazac

Lagorce, Ardèche, France

We found Didier in the middle of discussions with other local estates. An appointment was made, and we arrived in Lagorce one October morning just as the sun was peeking out. Didier, with a big smile, welcomed us in front of his cellar, built into the rock. He showed us his vats, his pampered barrels, his manual pump, his ratchet press. "It gave a cuvée its name because I broke it during pressing!"

He tells us his story, his past in a large Bordeaux estate, his nomadic life and his encounters in Ardèche. He has been cultivating his 2 hectares of vines since 2017. Everything is exposed due east, surrounded by groves on clay-limestone soils. This is what gives the wines their freshness and tension, incredible for this region.

We tasted his Syrah, his Grenache Noir, his Grenache Blanc and his Marsanne. Everything is brilliant, explosive; you instantly feel the energy of the man. The cuvées are impressively precise, deep and unique.