Andrea Calek
Born in Czechoslovakia, Andréa Calek settled in South Ardèche in 2010 after multiple careers and especially after traveling in many countries. Trained in the Rhône with the Rohel brothers then with Dominique Hauvette in Baux-de-Provence, he ended up landing with Gérald Oustric, an emblematic winemaker of Ardèche natural wine who took him under his wing.
In 2010, he bought a few hectares from the latter to launch himself in his own name, and that's when the solo adventure began. In 2016, the story took another turn with the arrival of Stéfana Nicolescu at his side, a Franco-Romanian who grew up in the United States and who, after a “vinesque” love at first sight, found herself a sommelier in Paris! Above all wanting to have her hands in the ground and to be as close as possible to the winegrowers, this young woman left to work in several vineyards (Spain, Loir and Cher) and finally settled down with Andrea Calek. Here everything is done in the ancestral way, no input, ever. Andréa and Stéfana want to keep the purity of the fruit in their bottles and they are uncompromising. In the vineyard, Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Chardonnay and Viognier share the 5.5 hectares of the estate, where every second row is always left grassy, the other being barely scratched to aerate the soil before the rain. In the cellar, a lot of carbonic macerations but also some long macerations, with in all cases a nice tension, but above all an overflowing energy. Their wines reflect their images: inspired and above all free.
