M&M Red 2022

M&M Rouge 2022

Jean Louis Pinto

M & M is an organic and natural red wine from Jean-Louis Pinto of the Es d’Aqui estate. Classified as a Vin de France, it comes from the Languedoc and Roussillon terroirs, and presents a rather atypical profile due to its blend. The blend is made from Mourvèdre (40%) and Muscat of Alexandria (40%) with some secondary varieties, all grown on clay-limestone soils.

Vinification

The harvest is manual and treated differently depending on the grape variety: destemmed maceration, whole bunch maceration, direct pressing. The wine is a blend of several macerations and pressings. Once blended, the wine is aged in resin vats.

Tasting

This aromatic and slightly tannic wine is made for surprises. The blend produced can only give an extraordinary result. M & M brings together several dimensions: aroma, delicacy, fruit, tannins. It is both robust and opulent. Pair it with a nice roasted poultry, a rack of roasted pork or game.

Learn more about Jean-Louis Pinto and the Es d’Aqui estate

A child of Ariège, Jean-Louis Pinto chose to stay in the country and make wines that resemble their terroir, hence the name Es d’Aqui (“He is from here”) that he gave to his wine merchant estate, located in Moulin-Neuf, a town near the Aude, between Mirepoix and Limoux. A region where vines once abounded, until the major mildew attacks at the beginning of the 20th century.

Winemaker and merchant

Jean-Louis buys grapes grown organically by winegrower friends. He monitors fruit set and ripening, and does everything he can to understand the grapes before harvesting them. He vinifies them at home using natural methods, practicing long macerations on whole bunches and very gentle pressings in a vertical press. He says he has "a lot of vines in common" with his friend Anthony Tortul (La Sorga).

All the terroirs of Languedoc

Jean-Louis Pinto's collection area extends throughout Languedoc, particularly in Hérault, Aude, and Tarn. "I make wines from the South," he says. "I'm mainly looking for terroirs that give freshness." The most powerful reds are made in five terracotta jars, which help him control extraction and give his wines, he says, "a very crystalline quality."