Anders Frederik Steen AFS Pure Magique 2017

Pure Magique Pas des Chimiques is a Vin de France red from Anders Frederik Steen and Anne Bruun Blauert, made in Valvignères in the southern Ardèche. The 2017 blend is roughly 75% Syrah and 25% Viognier, sourced from the organically farmed vineyards of Gérald and Jocelyne Oustric at Domaine du Mazel, where soils are a mix of clay and limestone.

For this vintage, two-thirds of the Syrah was destemmed and immediately co-macerated with the pressed juice of the remaining Syrah and the Viognier, in proportions of roughly 50% destemmed Syrah, 25% Syrah juice, and 25% Viognier juice. The wine macerated for 16 days in a fiberglass cuve left outside for open-air fermentation with native yeasts, was racked in March 2018, and bottled unfiltered, unfined, and without any added sulfites on August 3, 2018.

The result is a light-bodied, aromatic red with the lifted herbal and spice character that Viognier co-fermentation brings to Syrah — a technique long associated with the northern Rhône. Steen recommends serving it slightly chilled. The label title translates loosely to 'Pure Magic, No Chemicals,' which reflects his founding principle: nothing added, nothing taken away.