# Roc Cab (NV)

- **Producer:** Les Vignes de Babass
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Cabernet Franc
- **Region:** Loire, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €25
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** strawberry, cherry, rose, bell pepper

## About this wine

Sébastien Dervieux, known as Babass, is a former rock musician and a central figure in the natural wine movement of the Loire Valley. After co-founding Domaine des Griottes, he established Les Vignes de Babass in 2011 near Beaulieu-sur-Layon with his partner Agnès Mallet. Roc Cab comes from a tiny 0.8-hectare parcel of old Cabernet Franc vines planted in the mid-20th century. The name pays homage to Babass's musical past, the local schist rock (roche) soils of Anjou, and the grape variety itself.

## Interesting facts

- The name Roc Cab is a pun referencing rock music, Anjou's schist soil (roche), and Cabernet Franc.
- Babass ferments his wines in fiberglass tanks inside a semi-open barn exposed to ambient weather.
- Sébastien Dervieux was a rock musician before pioneering sulfur-free winemaking in the Loire Valley.

## Food pairing

The bright acidity, vibrant red fruit aromatics, and fine, supple tannins of this natural Cabernet Franc allow it to cut through rich animal fats without overwhelming lighter meats. Earthy vegetable dishes, especially mushrooms and fresh goat cheese, harmonize beautifully with the wine's slate-driven mineral tones.

## Wine making process

Farmed using organic and biodynamic principles without synthetic chemicals. The grapes are hand-harvested and subjected to whole-cluster maceration for 15 to 30 days. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with ambient yeasts in fiberglass tanks located in a semi-open barn, subjecting the fermentation process to natural climate changes. The wine is aged entirely in neutral vessels, unfiltered, unfined, and bottled with zero added sulfites.