2021 Maxime Magnon Vin de France Rouge Saint Jacques

WINEMAKER: Maxime Magnon
REGION: Languedoc, FR
VARIETAL: Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre
VITICULTURE: Certified Organic/Biodynamic

"This is one of Maxime's brand new cuvées for the 2021 vintage, made from 80% Grenache noir, 10% Cinsault and 10% Mourvèdre. I tased this out of Foudre in May and immediatley reserved what I could - eager to work a new terroir, the estate decided to exploit 4 hectares in the town of Peyriac de Mer - this terroir composed mainly of white marl and sandstone, overlooking the lakes and close to sea. As always with Maximes wines, this is a seduction, lithe, silken and fruit-kissed the wine maintains a fresheness and a cherry stone acidity that makes it very moreish, a delight!" - Andrew Guard

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.