YoYo "Alma Rouge" Vin de France '24

Laurence Manya Krief, known to most as Yoyo, has five hectares of old vines in Banyuls-sur-Mer between the mountains and the sea. After a brief career in the textiles industry in Paris, Yoyo began yearning for more connection with her work and wanted to free herself from what she described as an often “materialistic” environment. So she moved to the Banyuls, just miles near her hometown of Perpignan and purchased small plots of abandoned vines overlooking the Mediterranean ocean. By 2008 she converted her vines (primarily grenache and carignan) to be completely organic, and she now maintains the steep slopes entirely by hand, horse, or mule (Uma). Yoyo’s aim to encapsulate the warmth of the Mediterranean sun, the salty breeze of the ocean, and the magic of the black schist soil is perhaps why her wines are known to be some of the most elegant and poised of Banyuls.
(Info from the importer Zev Rovine Selections)
 
“Alma Rouge” is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Mourvèdre, on granite soils, and the average age of the vines is 80 years old. The vines are farmed organically. The grapes are harvested by hand, then undergo carbonic maceration for 12 days in stainless steel tanks. No fining, no filtration.