Syrahcha 2018, Cathar(tic) Wines, France

A heavenly Syrah that begins with enticing scents of ripe plums, tapenade, dried thyme and a hint of mocha, before leading you into its deep lair of rich, dark deliciousness... one of the best things we tasted in 2020 TBH.

The winemaker is a chum, so perhaps we are biased. But when we did a Zoom tasting with Richard Bray and some customers, we sold a fair bit of this afterwards.

Richard, who lives in Chiswick when he is not in the Roussillon. started making wine in 2008, helping out a mentor who had taken a job making wine in France near the Spanish border. He started doing his own thing in 2016.

Syrahcha is 100% whole-bunch fermented, punched down twice daily after a week of carbonic maceration, racked into an old Bordeaux barrel for 12 months before bottling. Only 400 bottles made.