Marc Barriot has become one of the reference names for natural wine in Roussillon. Working old vines spread across five villages, he and his wife Caroline turn the region's schist and limestone into wines of clarity and tension, most of them, surprisingly, white.
Backstory
Marc Barriot founded Clot de l'Origine in 2004 and runs it with his wife Caroline. In a region long associated with powerful reds and fortified wines, he built a following for fresh, low-intervention bottlings.
The Region
The estate is in Roussillon, in the far south of France. Its vines are scattered across five villages, including Maury, Estagel, Montner and Latour de France, drawing on a patchwork of soils and microclimates dominated by various schists and limestone.
Vineyards and Farming
Barriot farms roughly ten hectares of red grapes and two of white using biodynamic methods, plowing his oldest parcels by horse. The estate has been certified organic by Ecocert since 2009.
Winemaking
Fermentations run on indigenous yeasts with no additions, and sulfur is used only minimally, near absent in many cuvees. The result is a transparent expression of old vines and diverse terroirs.
The Wines
Although he farms mostly red grapes, around 90 percent of Barriot's output is white, including the flagship L'Original. The range also takes in orange wines and a traditional Maury, showing the breadth of what Roussillon terroir can give in natural hands.
