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La Cave des Nomades

Le Hibou Coyote 2018

Price: $49.95
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Tasting notes

For a wine from such a hot, sun-drenched corner of France, the tannins here are surprisingly fine — almost silky threads — while vibrant acidity keeps the prune and kirsch fruit from going heavy. It is the kind of bottle that draws comparisons to Rayas and Truchot: a natural wine that earns those references without trying to be anything other than Banyuls schist in a glass.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
PruneKirschAlmondMineral
  • Style: Dry, full-bodied red; Grenache, Merlot, Mourvèdre blend; schist soils, Banyuls; 14.4% ABV; no added sulfites
  • Grapes & Terroir: Grenache and Merlot in equal parts plus ~20% Mourvèdre; biodynamic; brown schist soils, hillside parcels behind Banyuls-sur-Mer, Roussillon
  • Winemaking: Partial carbonic maceration; aged in older barrique and stainless steel; native yeasts; no sulfites, no fining, no filtration
  • Serving: Serve at 62-65°F; 30-45 min decant recommended given age and density
  • Pairing: Braised lamb, duck confit, Catalan beef stew, aged hard cheese, grilled red mullet
  • Similar To: For fans of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grenache blends who want raw, unfiltered natural wine energy

Le Hibou Coyote is a dry red blend from José Carvalho Moreira's three-hectare estate in Banyuls, on the Mediterranean coast of Roussillon just north of the Spanish border. The 2018 is a blend of roughly equal parts Grenache and Merlot with approximately 20% Mourvèdre, sourced from low-yielding old vines planted in the brown schist soils characteristic of the Banyuls hillsides. It is labeled Vin de France rather than a Banyuls or Collioure AOC, as Zé's winemaking approach and grape selection fell outside appellation rules.

In the cellar, a portion of the blend underwent partial carbonic maceration before aging in a combination of older barrique and stainless steel. No sulfites were added at any stage, and the wine was made with native yeasts without fining or filtration. At 14.4% ABV, it is a full-throated southern red that retains freshness and grip rather than weight.

The nose is complex and mineral — dark subterranean stone, strawberry, and a spice cupboard of ginger and almond. On the palate, acidity is vibrant and the tannins are fine and thread-like, framing notes of prune, kirsch, and marzipan. The wine earned a 96.3 community score on CellarTracker and was considered a Wine of the Year by at least one reviewer.

La Cave des Nomades closed after the 2020 vintage when Zé returned to Portugal, making these remaining bottles from the estate's short run increasingly scarce collector items.

The wine's dark fruit and mineral edge work well alongside braised lamb shoulder, duck confit, or a plate of aged hard cheese. Its acidity cuts through fat, so it holds up to richly sauced dishes like a Catalan-style beef stew. It also pairs naturally with grilled red mullet or other full-flavored Mediterranean fish, as the winemaker himself favored local Port-Vendres seafood.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Grenache, Merlot, Mourvèdre
Farming:, Biodynamic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 14.4%
Country:, France
Region:, Roussillon
Appellation:, Vin de France
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.


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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.


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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.

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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

La Cave des Nomades

José Carvalho Moreira, known as Zé Tafé, grew up outside Porto, Portugal. After earning degrees in cinema and plastic arts, he spent three years working on organic and biodynamic farms across Europe before arriving in Banyuls in 2010 to harvest fruit. There he met Manuel Di Vecchi Staraz of Vinyer de la Ruca, who introduced him to natural wine. After helping for a couple of vintages, he purchased his first parcels of vines and launched La Cave des Nomades with his partner Paulina Srzednicka. His first commercial vintage was 2014.

The estate comprised three hectares spread across 12 parcels in the hills behind Banyuls-sur-Mer, planted predominantly to old vines of Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, Merlot, Macabeo, and Muscat Petit Grain. Farming followed biodynamic principles with no synthetic inputs — not even copper — and all vineyard work was done by hand using a traditional Catalan tool called a xadic. No pesticides, herbicides, or chemical treatments of any kind were applied.

In the cellar, Zé worked without any additions: no sulfites, no fining agents, no filtration. Fermentation relied on native yeasts. Vinification vessels included stainless steel, old barrels, and amphorae, with each parcel vinified separately before blending. The Le Hibou Coyote 2018 involved partial carbonic maceration followed by aging in older barrique and stainless steel. Each cuvée was a micro-production of 300 to 1,200 bottles. Wine labels were made of cork and individually designed by artist Katja Stroph. Zé made wine at Les 9 Caves, a communal facility in Banyuls shared with producers including Bruno Duchêne. The project ended after the 2020 vintage when Zé returned to Portugal.

Wine region

Roussillon, France

Roussillon occupies the southernmost corner of France, sitting in a geographic amphitheater bounded by the Pyrenees to the south and west, the Corbières mountains to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. Grapes are planted on slopes rising up to 650 meters, and the region receives more than 320 days of sunshine per year, making it the hottest and driest in France. The dry northern Tramontane wind provides critical relief, moderating temperatures and keeping disease pressure low. Around Banyuls and Collioure, the defining soil type is brown schist — steep terraced hillsides of fractured, well-drained slate that force vines deep in search of water and concentrate flavors significantly.

Roussillon encompasses 14 AOPs including Banyuls, Collioure, Côtes du Roussillon, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, and Maury. Banyuls and Banyuls Grand Cru are historically associated with naturally sweet, Grenache-based vins doux naturels, while Collioure covers the same schist terroir for dry reds and whites. Many producers working with non-conforming grapes or techniques — as Zé did at La Cave des Nomades — bottle under the broader Vin de France designation. The region's blending tradition draws on Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Merlot, planted in intermingled parcels across varying altitudes and soil expositions.

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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