# Akoibon (2025)

- **Producer:** Domaine YoYo
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre
- **Region:** Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 14.5%
- **Average price:** €30
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, strawberry, plum, herbaceous, black pepper, smoke

## About this wine

Laurence Manya Krief ('YoYo') left the Paris fashion industry in 2005 to start her micro-estate on steep, hand-farmed coastal terraces overlooking the Mediterranean Sea in Banyuls-sur-Mer. The cuvée name 'Akoibon' is a phonetic play on the French phrase 'À quoi bon?' ('What's the point?'), capturing her lighthearted and carefree natural winemaking philosophy. Working tiny plots on black schist soils, Domaine YoYo produces fresh, Mediterranean-influenced wines in very limited quantities.

## Interesting facts

- The cuvée name is a phonetic pun on 'À quoi bon?' meaning 'What's the point?'.
- Steep coastal vineyard terraces are farmed using horses, mules, and traditional Banyuls pickaxes.
- Yields are tiny at approximately 15 hectoliters per hectare from black schist soils.

## Food pairing

The combination of vibrant acidity, supple fine tannins, and expressive red fruit from semi-carbonic maceration allows this red to cut through rich charcuterie and grilled meats without overpowering delicate spices or subtle game notes.

## Wine making process

Hand-harvested into small 13 kg crates, whole-cluster grapes undergo a 10-day semi-carbonic maceration with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks. The wine is aged for approximately 6 months in neutral oak barriques. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, with only a minimal dose of sulfur added prior to bottling.