I didn't know this winery very well and I didn't plan to visit it. How fortunate that fate brought us here ...
I was delighted that the Portes Ouvertes 2022 in Médoc started on Friday. It was, but I somehow forgot to find out what time. Because on Friday it started in the evening ... What now?
I hastily arranged to visit two wineries. And one of them was a discovery called Clos Manou.
Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by how helpful and accommodating the winemakers in Bordeaux are. Despite the fact that they are busy, they find time to give their best to a bunch of Czechs they don't know at all.
Stéphane Dief and his son Françoise Dief started from scratch in 1998. They started with nothing. They inherited nothing, nobody gave them anything. They had to learn everything themselves, often by trial and error. And to work it all out with their own hands. 25 years of wanting to make the best wine possible. 25 years of hard work. I admire their passion and perseverance. Especially when it's crowned with a truly great product.
The other thing that must strike everyone is their sense of innovation. Although a small family-run winery, they have facilities that you only see in the big "Grand Cru Classé" Chateaux, and that's only in some. Terracotta amphorae are commonplace just about everywhere now, but 16 concrete eggs for such a small winery is hardly average. And even two "glass globes" (one costs nearly €5,000, by the way) that's really top of the line!
Everything they earn, they put back into the winery and buy the best that can contribute to push the quality of their wine even higher.
More proof of progress? Corks.
Well, corks... a more accurate term would be bioplastic corks. The body of this cork is made from biomass such as corn starch, sugar cane, sugar beets, cellulose and vegetable oils. The manufacturer is ArdeaSeal.
Stéphane and Françoise have been testing these plugs since 2004. In nearly 20 years, they have never had a bad wine in a bottle with this stopper due to a cork defect. From the 2018 vintage, they have therefore decided to bottle wine only with this type of cork.
The impression from the visit to this winery was more than excellent. Friendly and helpful owners, great wine that reflects their philosophy: we strive for maximum quality in everything we do.
And these are not empty words. The quality of their wines is the result of their hard work, which they have reflected in their logo: an elephant pushing cases of wine.