Domaine des Pierres Sèches, Syrah, 'Lot 22' VDF

I was up in the Northern Rhône on a cold spring day with a small team of fellow wine geeks, bouncing around France tasting small growers from the Loire to Burgundy and then down into the Rhône. The importer I was traveling with looked over and said, “Hey, there’s this new guy we might start importing—maybe we should go check it out.” Naturally, we were all keen. So from the Hill of Hermitage we drove about fifteen minutes northwest toward Côte-Rôtie, eventually pulling into a tiny courtyard beside an old stone building that didn’t look like much at all. Out steps Michel-Chapoutier–trained rising star Sylvain Gauthier, waving us into a winery that felt no larger than 15 by 20 feet—hoses coiled, tanks wedged in corners, barrels stacked like Tetris. Nearly every vine he farms is in small parcels around Cheminas and Sécheras, including a prized slice of the old Raymond Trollat vineyard—hallowed ground for Saint-Joseph fanatics. It was organized chaos, the kind of place where everything is done by hand (and sometimes by horse), and everything he poured was electric. These are humble wines with soul, energy, and verve—the exact bottles I want to be drinking. Today’s offer is his non-vintage Vin de France Syrah sourced entirely from 2022. It comes from Saint-Joseph terroir through and through, but because he doesn’t follow every AOC checkbox, it carries the simple “VDF” label—even though it tastes exactly like classic Northern Rhône Syrah should. And because of that outsider label, this wine overdelivers in spades—an outrageous value under $30.

To understand what’s in this bottle, you have to understand the arc of the Northern Rhône—a tight, rugged corridor carved by the Rhône River, home to some of the most soulful Syrah on earth. At the northern tip sits Côte-Rôtie, a patchwork of vertiginous terraces carved from schist and granite, producing perfumed, violet-tinged Syrah of haunting finesse. Just south is Condrieu, the homeland of Viognier—honeyed, floral, intoxicating whites grown on sheer granite. Running down the river’s right bank is Saint-Joseph, a long, ribbon-like appellation that begins near Chavanay above Condrieu and stretches all the way past Tournon, nearly touching the northern border of Cornas. In its best granite hillsides—like the parcels Sylvain farms—Saint-Joseph delivers pure, peppery Syrah that rivals its more famous neighbors. Across the river rises the solitary dome of Hermitage, the granite throne not only of some of the world’s greatest Syrah, but also home to a small amount of world-class white wines made from Marsanne and Roussanne—rich, textural, and capable of aging for decades. Encircling it is Crozes-Hermitage, a broader appellation with gentler slopes producing more open-knit, approachable expressions. And farther south, pressed against rugged gneiss and granite, sits Cornas—the most wild, muscular, feral expression of Syrah in France. Together, these appellations form the spiritual homeland of Syrah’s most expressive personalities—and this wine channels that lineage with unfiltered honesty.

After studies in Beaune, Sylvain Gauthier returned to the Rhône to work with two titans: Michel Chapoutier and Stéphane Robert. Their influence shows—precision, clarity, and a fanatical respect for granite terroir. In 2007, Sylvain founded his own tiny micro-domaine in Cheminas, naming it “Pierres Sèches” in homage to the ancient dry-stone walls that hold up the region’s impossibly terraced vineyards. He farms organically, often by hand and sometimes by horse, producing small quantities of vibrantly flavored, energetically spiced wines that have quickly become cult favorites among insiders. His holdings include a slice of the legendary Raymond Trollat parcel—once the source of some of the most coveted Saint-Joseph ever bottled—giving his lineup of wines an extra dose of historical magic. This is a domaine built not on marketing or grand facilities, but on sweat, granite, and honest work.

‘Lot 22’ is 100% Syrah from high-altitude parcels around Sécheras, north of Tournon, facing south and southeast for ideal ripening. The soils are classic decomposed granite, translating directly into the wine’s mineral snap. Vines average 20–30 years. Everything is hand-harvested, partially destemmed (90%), and fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel before being aged entirely in tank to preserve purity and vibrancy. The wine is bottled unfined, with minimal sulfur, and labeled Vin de France only because Sylvain chooses not to follow the strictest Saint-Joseph AOC parameters for this particular wine—he makes the wine he believes in, not the wine bureaucracy demands.

This Syrah is vivid, energetic, and deeply aromatic, offering that cold, wild blueberry and wet-violet perfume that is pitch-perfect Northern Rhône Syrah for me. The palate is alive with bright red fruits, crunchy raspberry, cracked black pepper, licorice root, and smoked herbs, all carried by a granite-driven freshness that keeps everything lifted and vibrant. There’s no makeup, no heavy oak, nothing to obscure the purity of fruit or the character of the land. Serve it just above cellar temperature, in Burgundy stems, with something like braised lamb—the combination is magic. It’s the kind of bottle you open while cooking and suddenly it’s half gone before the meal is even ready.