Mura Mura 2024 is a blend of Grenache Noir, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Muscat à Petits Grains, and Muscat d’Alexandrie. The Merlot and Muscat à Petits Grains were picked at the same time in early August, macerated together for 2-3 days, and then the combined juice was pressed. The Muscat d’Alexandrie was picked into two tanks. Whole bunches went into one and destemmed grapes into the other. Both tanks were macerated for several days and then pressed and kept separate. The next component was Grenache Noir, which was macerated (whole bunch) for two days. It was then pressed and also kept separate.

The final component was some Mourvèdre from a vineyard with distinctive dark black soils. This year, inexplicably, the grapes refused to budge beyond a certain point of ripeness for over a month and so, despite most of the harvest being in August, including all the other components for this wine, it was not picked until mid September, mainly to save it from being completely eaten by birds.

Eventually the separate components were racked and blended to make the wine (it seems a bit like the completion of a jigsaw puzzle!). 15% of it spent time in a large old Stockinger barrel and the rest in fiberglass.

Mataburro

Mataburro is the small domaine of rising stars, Laurent Roger and Mélissa Ingrand, based in the Roussillon, the Catalan corner of France perched between the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees. Laurent’s path into natural wine took him from working at the venerable Paris wine bar Le Verre Volé to the Roussillon, where he apprenticed with Alain Castex of Le Casot des Mailloles, learning firsthand the central role of soil in shaping a vineyard’s expression. He further honed his style of winemaking while working with Tom Lubbe of Matassa and Axel Prüfer of Le Temps des Cerises.

In 2017, Laurent and Mélissa established Mataburro and took over his father’s remaining three hectares of vines, returning them to organic farming. Today, the domaine spans nearly five hectares across parcels near Rivesaltes and Espira-de-l’Agly. To have maximum soil life, Laurent does not plough, using green manure planting instead. In the cellar, they do short macerations of whole bunches with no foot stomping to limit the extraction. All macerations take place in fiberglass and the wines are aged in stainless steel. The wines are never filtered and have no added sulfites. Biodynamic practices, cover crops, and careful attention to each vineyard block allow them to make wines that are fresh, energetic, and naturally low in alcohol — perfect for the hot Mediterranean climate and refreshing anywhere in the world.