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Andrea Calek

Babiole 2018

Price: $34.95
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Tasting notes

Babiole hits that rare mark where a wine feels both wild and precise — cherry and raspberry fruit up front, then a mid-palate shift into earth, clove, and dried sage. The grippy tannins and lively acidity keep it honest rather than sloppy, which is harder to pull off at zero sulfites than it sounds.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
CherryRaspberryEarthClove
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; cherry, raspberry, earth, clove; lively acidity; grippy tannins; 13.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: Grenache and Syrah; 20-60 year old vines; calcareous clay soils; Alba-la-Romaine, Ardèche; organic and biodynamic (uncertified)
  • Winemaking: Hand-harvested; native yeast fermentation; ~10-day skin maceration; no added sulfites; unfined; unfiltered
  • Serving: Serve at 60-64F; drink the night you open it; does not hold well overnight
  • Pairing: Roasted lamb, grilled pork sausages, charcuterie, aged sheep's milk cheese
  • Similar To: For fans of Beaujolais crus or light-to-medium Cotes du Rhone who want a wilder, zero-zero expression

Babiole is a red blend from Andrea Calek's estate in Alba-la-Romaine, in the southern Ardèche. The 2018 is made from Grenache and Syrah grown on calcareous clay soils, with vines ranging from 20 to 60 years old. It carries the IGP Coteaux de l'Ardèche designation.

Grapes are hand-harvested and macerated on skins for approximately 10 days, then fermented spontaneously with native yeasts. No sulfites are added at any point. The wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered, keeping it as close to the vineyard as possible.

The name Babiole translates roughly as 'bauble' or 'trifle' in French — a self-deprecating label for a wine that punches well above that description. Expect bright red fruit, earthy undertones, a savory spice note, and enough grip to hold the wine together through a meal.

Drink soon after opening. Like most zero-zero wines from Calek, it does not hold well overnight.

Works well alongside roasted lamb, grilled pork sausages, or a plate of charcuterie. The earthy, spiced character holds up to dishes with herbs like thyme and rosemary. Also good with aged sheep's milk cheese.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Grenache, Syrah
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 13.5%
Country:, France
Region:, Ardeche
Appellation:, IGP Coteaux de l'Ardeche
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.


Canceling an Order

If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Andrea Calek

Andrea Calek was born in Czechoslovakia and deserted from the Czech army in 1989. He eventually made his way back to France, where an encounter with the wines of Guy Breton in Beaujolais drew him into winemaking. He trained with the Rohel brothers in the Rhône Valley, then with Dominique Hauvette in Les Baux-de-Provence, where he helped convert the estate to biodynamic farming. He later trained with Gérald Oustric at Le Mazel in the Ardèche, the winery credited with establishing natural wine in the region.

In 2007, Calek purchased approximately 5 hectares of vines from Oustric and established his own estate near Alba-la-Romaine, farming the land completely without chemical inputs. His partner Stefana Nicolescu joined the project in 2016. She had previously worked as a sommelier in Paris and in vineyards in Spain and the Loire before settling in the Ardèche. The estate covers around 5.5 hectares planted to Syrah, Grenache, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Viognier, with alternating rows grassed or lightly tilled before rain.

Calek uses no additives in the cellar — no added sulfites, no fining agents, no filtration. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts. He has worked with both carbonic maceration and direct skin-contact maceration depending on the cuvée and vintage. For Babiole, skin maceration runs approximately 10 days. The farming follows organic and biodynamic principles, though the estate is not formally certified. RAW WINE lists residual sugar below 1 g/L and sulfites below 10 mg/L.

Wine region

Ardeche, France

The Ardèche department sits between the Rhône Valley to the east and the Massif Central to the west in southeastern France. The southern Ardèche, where most vineyards are concentrated, has a semi-continental climate with strong Mediterranean influence: mild winters, hot dry summers, and the cool northerly Mistral wind running through the area. The collision of the Mistral with moisture from the south can produce heavy rains in spring and autumn, which add vintage variation.

Soils across the IGP Coteaux de l'Ardèche are highly varied, including limestone, calcareous clay, sandstone, schist, and ancient alluvial deposits. This geological diversity allows different grape varieties to express distinctly. The IGP designation replaced the old Vins de Pays category in 2009. Key red varieties grown in the region include Syrah, Grenache, and Merlot, with Viognier and Chardonnay prominent among whites. The commune of Alba-la-Romaine, where Andrea Calek farms, sits roughly 10 km east of Montélimar and has documented viticultural history going back to the Iron Age.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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