Maunoury ‘Mon nom est Rouge’ Rouge 2020

Location: France, Loire, Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame

Winemaker: Jonathan Maunoury

Grapes: Cabernet Franc

Soil: Shallow soil (60 cm), stony with clay-limestone dominance on green chalk rock green chalk rock (mid Turonian period). Located halfway up (73 m of altitude) on the western slope of the Puy Notre Dame.

Winemaking: Hand harvest. Native yeast. De-stemmed, 4 day maceration in tank. Aged 9 months in tank. 

From the Importer Steven Graf: Puy-Notre-Dame is a little hill of chalk 20 kilometers south of the city of Saumur, sort of on the border of between the more limestone bedrock of the greater Saumur region, and the more superficial soils of Anjou noir. In 2015, after studying with such illustrious vignerons as Marc Angeli, Vouette and Sorbée, Pierre Gonin, Chandon de Briailles, and -naturally- Melaric, Jonathan settled in this little goldilocks zone of tuffeau vineyards. (Tuffeau is this sort of wet and crumbly bedrock that makes up all the caves of Saumur including the ones you walked through at La Dive! It's alluvial like schist, but not so much, and it produces a lot of power, but not as much as pure limestone).

Anyway, as a result of this interesting terroir and it being one of the driest places in France, the wine here is known for its muscularity and aromatic complexity. Also because it tastes very good. That's no more so the case than with this very cool lineup we've got from Jonathan spanning 4 vintages and many different exposures. Something for everyone here: completely biodynamic, without additives, and as clean as can be.