Le P'tit Barriot Blanc 2023, Marc et Caroline Barriot

Le P’tit Barriot Blanc 2023 is a wonderfully unusual white from Marc and Caroline Barriot of Le Clot de l’Origine in Roussillon. Made mostly from Syrah, with small portions of Sauvignon and Merlot, it’s direct-pressed and fermented with native yeasts in concrete to create a pale, mineral, lightly saline wine with a sneaky little thread of red fruit.

Expect wild strawberry, red currant, citrus peel, green apple, wet stone, and a faint grilled note. It’s bright, dry, and refreshing, but with more personality than your average crisp white. Pair it with seafood, tapas, grilled fish, roast chicken, herby beans, or salty cheeses. A white wine made largely from red grapes? Yes. Weird? A little. Delicious? Absolutely.

About the Winery

Le Clot de l’Origine is a small, fiercely individual estate based in Maury, in France’s Roussillon region. Marc Barriot founded the domaine in 2004, and today he and Caroline farm about 10 hectares of vines spread across several distinct terroirs, from sea-influenced parcels near Salses-le-Château to higher, cooler vineyards around Caudiès de Fenouillèdes. Their goal is simple but demanding: make wines that stay as close as possible to the expression of each place.

The estate has been farmed organically since the beginning and has been certified organic since 2009. Vineyard work is intensely hands-on: manual harvesting, work around the vine feet by hand, cover crops to build soil life, and treatments based on sulfur, copper, essential oils, and plant infusions. This is not wine-by-spreadsheet farming. It’s practical, physical, and very much tied to the rhythm of the land.

In the cellar, the Barriots work with native yeasts and minimal additions. Whites are pressed quickly after harvest to preserve freshness and avoid oxidation; reds are handled separately, but the estate’s white-from-red-grapes bottlings are where things get especially interesting. Since 2017, Marc has made blanc de noirs-style wines from Syrah and Merlot by pressing the grapes directly and stopping before the juice picks up too much color.