Yohann Moreno ‘Ribos’ Rouge 2020

Location: France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Corbières

Winemaker: Yohann Moreno

Grapes: Mourvèdre, Carignan & Grenache 

Winemaking: Vinified in tanks (fiber, stainless) and blended a few months prior to bottling with 20ppm top.

From the Importer Selection Massale: ‘Ribas’ is named for “Ribosana anamolida", being the name of the limestone/schist/decomposed schist parcel that includes some 75-year-old Carignan (30%), the backbone of this wine even though it isn't the main ingredient, Mourvèdre is (40%) with some Grenache for the last 30%. I find this cuvee to be the most "southern" of the lineup, soft tannins, bitterness, ripe fruits on the mouth, red ones on the nose.

Yohann Moreno, is the newest winemaker to join our book and is slowly becoming a notable name in the Corbières area. He was born in the south then lived in Paris until he decided to heading back at 18 years old with wine in mind. He is the son of a chef and his grandparents are vignerons but sold to the coopérateur in Durban-Corbières /Fitou which is very common in that area (of the 215 growers in Fitou, 180 belong to one of the three cooperatives).

He inherited one parcel from the family in 2013 and as of 2023, he has ten hectares in total. The area of Corbieres can simplistically be divided into two areas — flatlands that are machine harvested, irrigated, and farmed conventionally with yields in mind while the other is the hills. Yohann has some Syrah in the flatlands, but it's higher elevation and isolated and the rest of the parcels are in the hills. Four hectares of 70-year-old Grenache grown on limestone/schist and Carignan planted in 1970 on clay over red rocks (iron-rich) and some planted on limestone/schist soils.

The style is very much in line with his friend and neighbor Maxime Magnon (who he worked for) but maybe a little more "raw" and he pushes things a little more than his more established neighbor. All viticulture is done by Yohann and his grandfather who is a superhuman 80-something dude that can't help but work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.