2018 Maxime Magnon Corbières Rouge Campagnès
WINEMAKER: Maxime Magnon
REGION: Languedoc, FR
VARIETAL: Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Grenache Gris, Macabou, Terret
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic/Biodynamic
"Deep in the Hautes-Corbières, a wildly hilly region of the Languedoc midway between Narbonne and Perpignan, a young Maxime Magnon stumbled upon a treasure: ancient vineyard parcels in steep, rocky soils destined to be abandoned, as local farmers were unwilling to break their backs to eke out tiny yields of wine that would ultimately get lost in the town co-op’s generic blend. Aware that he would never be able to find—or afford—something like this in his homeland of Burgundy, Maxime seized the opportunity and bought the vineyards, immediately going organic.
Today, he has redefined what is possible in this rugged part of the southern French countryside, crafting wines of vibrancy and grace from forgotten vineyard parcels that only needed the right caretaker to express their true character. Campagnès is Maxime’s greatest red, a century-old field blend of mostly Carignan that is fermented whole-cluster and bottled unfiltered with very little sulfur. He counts Allemand, Barral, and Lapierre among his strongest influences, and it shows." - Kermit Lynch
The Corbières AOC is a large and geographically diverse one, extending from coastal plains along the Mediterranean (home to massive tracts of ultra-productive vineyards) to the foothills of the Pyrenées in the south and west of the zone. Magnon’s 14 hectares of vines are situated in the latter “Hautes-Corbières” (upper Corbières) sub-zone, at elevations reaching up to 500 meters. The steep slopes here are characterized by an extremely thin topsoil over a rocky mix of limestone and schist, and it should go without saying that all vineyard work is done by hand.
In 2002, Burgundy native Maxime Magnon settled in the Corbières region and more precisely in Villeneuve-les-Corbières. Before that he worked with Jean Foillard, Philippe Valette and Thierry Allemand, three big names! further he was inspired by Didier Barral, his neighbour, he reintroduced goats, donkeys and cows (Chamomile the cow is pictured in this email). The vines are manually tended with the help of a small tracked vehicle (like Barral). In order to preserve the soils, neither pesticides nor insecticides are used. And from November to mid-April, the animals graze among the vines, which encourages microbial activity in soils.