OFFER DETAILS & ORDER BY EMAIL
Maxime Magnon
Corbieres, Southern France
For those not yet initiated, Maxime Magnon makes some of the most brilliant red (and white) wines in Southern France and one of the best Carignan wines on the entire planet. His whites are quite the wines and miraculously have just the right amount of acidity that he somehow retains in this hot and arid region devoid rain for most of the growing season. The acidity is notable because it is NOT noticeable - just perfectly integrated. Not to mention the gorgeous orchard and stone fruits that form the core of the wine’s character accented by white florals and mandarins. La Begou is Camapagnes’ equal in this portfolio, and in Southern France’s ranking of top wines.
The reds have soaring aromatics, very pretty stuff, that for me show gorgeous dark red and blue fruits, classic Mediterranean perfumes of provencal herbs, lavender, and always a fine mineral note underlying that reminds me of dusty, crushed rocks. Maxime’s wines are some of my favorite to enjoy at home personally from this region, especially for quality levels that meet or exceed the big names like Trevallon, Grange des Peres ($200), and unlike Tempier’s reds you can drink now! Campagnes will be amazing with some cellar patience but is beautiful with some proper decanting. St. Jacques and Demarrante lean more into the fruit, making them perfect to have anytime. The Rozeta and Campagnes amplify the complexity with more mineral notes, more spice, more layers of fruit, just more of everything! Rozeta shows a little more fruit in it’s youth due to the blend of Grenache in this wine. Perfect with grilled or braised dishes all year round - the reds are also versatile enough to take a chill in the summer and work down summer’s heat on your palate and get a proper red wine summer fix!
For people familiar with it, most of the Languedoc in Southern France produces wines of little excitement, much of the terroir is flat, with fertile soils that make for easy farming and high volumes of cheap, basic fruit for, well, basic wines that are destined for supermarkets. But, like anything great, nothing comes easy and thankfully there are secret pockets of exceptional terroir.
As you arrive deep in the Western Languedoc, away from the flat coastal, flat vineyards, towards Spain and the Pyrenees, the altitude rises, the air is drier and cools in the evenings from wide diurnal swings. Rocky outcrops seem to lie around every turn. Here we find scattered amongst rock and scrub are pockets of ancient and gnarly old vineyards, many of them Carignan. Like many places that are inhospitable to normal agriculture, the vine thrives. No topsoil exists, just fractured and decomposed schist rocks and bedrock.
Today, we have some wines from just such a place, the Hautes Corbières. We have the new vintages from Maxime Magnon, who in 2002 found this special place full of abandoned old vine material. It became Maxime’s life’s work to nurse these vines back to life and make wines that reflect this special terroir.
Magnon is from Burgundy and worked/studied under Jean Foillard, the legendary Beaujolais producer from Morgon. He practices whole cluster winemaking, with fermentation and aging in both steel and old used French oak (neutral). He also counts as a friend and consultant the great Didier Barral from Faugeres. Didier is one of the other living legends in the Languedoc we regularly offer!
• Certified organic, but also incorporates biodynamic practices
• Vines all planted in goblet style
• Farms area of Hautes Corbières, a sub-appellation within A.O.C. Corbières that borders Fitou, and sits at a higher elevation with very rocky terrain
• Vinifies using whole cluster fermentation
• Sulfur only used during bottling
• All wines are aged in second-hand, Burgundian barrels sourced from a producer in Chassagne-Montrachet.
St. Jacques rouge 2023
$32.99 on 4+ mix & match ok
$34.99 reg US LOW
• 30% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache Noir, 30% Carignan, 10% Cinsault
• 40 yrs average, 100 yrs (Carignan), 3 ha white marl soils
• Fermented and aged in foudre
• Whole cluster vinification
The newest Magnon cuvée blends equal parts Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Carignan from a plot of vines he had been coveting for some time, not too far from the sea (thus no Corbieres AOC on this wine as it lies outside). Like Maxime’s other red cuvées, this one is soulful, sunny, and robust.
La Demarrante rouge 2023
$32.99 on 4+ mix & match ok
$34.99 reg US LOW
Just 24 available
• 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 20% Syrah
• 50-60 year old vines in sandy limestone and schist
• Aged in both cuve and foudre
“La Démarrante” is a blend of only Carignan, Grenache, and Syrah. It is terrific young and deliciously quaffable in youth as the suppleness of the texture here is irresistible. “La Démarrante is one of those wines that truly inspires thirst vintage after vintage.” Anthony Lynch (Kermit’s son) says that because “It is what happens when the Languedoc meets the Beaujolais”. Take old fruit and ferment it carbonically and you have a light, fresh, and delicious wine in the glass that is PERFECT slightly chilled!
Rozeta rouge 2023
$47.99 on 4+ mix & match ok
$49.99 reg US LOW
Just 12 available
• 40% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 30% Cinsault
• 50-60-year-old vines in limestone and schist
• Grapes from field blend are picked and fermented together
• Ages wine in previously used Burgundian barrels from a producer in Chassagne-Montrachet
The Corbières “Rozeta” is a blend of these two distinct terroirs. This blend is particularly unique, from Carignan vineyards that are dispersed with numerous varietals of older vines, namely Grenache Gris, Macabou, and Terret, which are all picked and fermented together—a true field blend of the old school.
Kermit: “Old Carignan, Grenache, and Cinsault make up Rozeta, a mid-weight cuvée with the radiant fruit and mineral grain of great cru Beaujolais. Maxime’s use of whole-cluster fermentation results in savory, floral aromatics and a buoyant, lifted structure. It has real depth, but can also be chilled down and quaffed effortlessly.”
LIMITED
Campagnes Rouge 2022
$52.99 on 3+
$54.99 reg US LOW
Just 24 available
• Field blend of 95% Carignan; also Grenache, Syrah, Grenache Gris, Macabou, Terret
• 100+year-old vines in clay and limestone
• 11ha of several plots are picked and fermented together
• The flagship from the oldest vines and entirely Carignan - this is the most complex and most age-worthy wine in the line-up
• Ages wine in previously used Burgundian barrels from a producer in Chassagne-Montrachet
Maxime’s tête de cuvé, “Campagnès,” is a single vineyard of the hundred-year-old Carignan, and is the most age-worthy in his line-up. This is his flagship red wine, his calling card if you will, and is also one of the greatest expressions of Carignan in the world! One of my favorite wines from the south of France, this is as immensely pleasurable as it is complex! The nose and palate of these wines are so pronounced with notes of dark red and purple fruits, lavender, spicy notes from the stems and whole cluster fermentation, plus loads of garrigue, rocks, saline and soil in liquid form!
VERY RARE
La Begou Blanc 2023
$54.99 net US LOW
Just 10 available
• 50% Grenache Gris, 40% Grenache Blanc, 10% Carignan Gris
• 55-65-year-old vines in limestone and schist
• Fermented and aged in 500L foudre for 10 months
A blend of Grenache Gris (50%) and Grenache blanc (40%) and, more rarely, Carignan Gris (10%). This wine has a lot of forward character (med+) with a very expressive mouthfeel, both fruity and floral, nice weight that is elegant with finessed density. The aromatic power is balanced by a beautiful freshness which gives verticality to the wine with a finish that is tangy with saline notes. Grenache Gris is definitely a very beautiful grape variety when it is so well worked. This is like a Chateauneuf du Pape blanc but better because it is not from Chateauneuf!
Kermit: Maxime’s blanc blends Grenache Gris, Grenache Blanc, and Carignan Gris fermented in large foudres for a stimulating, toasty, tightly coiled southern white you can drink now and over the next five years. The fleshy finish, like fresh fruits ground in a stone mortar, is a gratifying reminder he bottles without filtering.