Vinyer de la Ruca ‘Silvano’ Rouge 2020
Location: France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Banyuls
Winemaker: Manuel di Vecchi Staraz
Grapes: Grenache
Winemaking: Hand harvest, grapes are manually destemmed, then foot trodden in open vats while live music is played. The wines then ferment with native yeasts in open vats, with Manuel breaking the cap manually (literally with his hands) when he sees fit.
All from the Importer Louis/Dressner: In our modern times, it's baffling how much we overlook and take for granted. We want more, faster and cheaper. Even within our particularly fun subculture of fine wine (and let's not kid ourselves that it isn't), too often we treat wine as a commodity, as business. And even within the most militant of natural wine circles, very few of us think about the industrial shortcuts that permit us to drink the fruits of a vigneron's labor at a "fair" price: the tractor, the press, the bottles, the corks. Not to mention refrigerated containers shipped across an ocean!
As the wines we love and have been diligently fighting for over three decades reach new levels of popularity, opportunism and capitalism seem ever to abound. But what if someone did the exact opposite? Did everything without mechanization or industrialization? What would it entail? What would the results be? In the steep, micro-yielding slopes of Banyuls, Manuel di Vecchi Staraz set his sights to find out.
Originally from Florence, Manuel received a PhD in in Montpellier and later taught classes in his hometown. Unsatisfied with his academic career, he set his sights to become a vignaiolo in Basilicata. But it didn't take, so Manu decided to come back to France to find land. His only prerequisite? That it could not be worked by tractor.
"I wanted to do everything by hand. I wanted to create barriers for myself."
The search brought him to the treacherous, heavily abandoned terraces of Banyuls. Steep and on hard schist, it was the perfectly suited for his goals. All he needed was a vineyard and a mule.
Down a long, narrow dirt path giving way to a breathtaking view of Banyuls and the sea, Manuel was able to acquire a semi-abandoned, two hectare terrace. Despite missing many vines, it was exposed full South and planted in old Grenache, perfect for the production of Banyuls. From 2006 to 2014, his entire production and livelihood came from this parcel and the scant 1000 bottles it produced a year. Everything was made in a garage and for a while Manuel lived in a tent above the land.
In 2011, Manuel and Bruno Duchêne spearheaded the purchase of Les 9 Caves, a large edifice in the middle of town that used to house Banyuls's cave cooperative. Along with a wineshop, restaurant and guest rooms, nine individual cellars would be built for small wineries to operate in. Manu was fully at the helm of the buildout and management. By 2014, Les 9 Caves was fully operational; equipped with a "real" cellar, it was time for the new challenge of making dry red wines. Now established in the region, Manuel was quickly able to rent new parcels and today finds himself with 5.5 hectares.
Everything in the vineyards is done by hand. Manuel refuses to trim grass with brush cutters, instead opting for sheep to openly graze the vineyards in the winter or, in some cases, to till the soil with the help of his mule Ullamp. To fully execute this, he hired a team of contractors to build logistically unprecedented and costly fences around his parcels. The few neighbors he has all think he's nuts.
In the cellar, every wine is made the same way. The grapes are manually destemmed, then foot trodden in open vats. Invoking the old traditions of Porto, live music is played the entire time to encourage the workers and create an aura of celebration. The wine ferments naturally in open vats, with Manuel breaking the hat with his hands when he feels necessary. They are then racked manually to barrel, stainless or fiberglass for élevage. No additives, save for about 3% of a spirit base for the Banyuls, is added to the wine at any point. Bottling is of course done manually with a hose tube, with each bottle corked one at a time in the cellar.
Speaking of the bottles: to eschew industrial glass, the majority of the production is bottled in blown glass produced by a local artisan. This is a three week process from start to finish, resulting in gorgeous, one of a kind vessels for each bottle. You'll never see the same one twice and it's essentially a double purchase: a delicious bottle of wine a a gorgeous carafe, decanter or vase.
Today, a normal annual production hovers around 2000 bottles. To achieve these microscopic quantities, Manuel works harder than a conventional farmer with 25 hectares. So yeah, the wines are expensive: a realistic reflection of the price of the work. We can get down with that.
For the ‘Silvano’ cuvée, grapes are manually destemmed, then foot trodden in open vats while live music is played. The wines then ferment in open vats, with Manuel breaking the cap manually (literally with his hands) when he sees fit. They are then racked manually to barrel, stainless or fiberglass for élevage. Nothing is added or taken away to the juice. Any rackings are done manually through a small tube.