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Manoir de la Tête Rouge

Free Mousse Pet Nat NV

Price: $29.95
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Tasting notes

This pet-nat drinks drier and more structured than most, with genuine complexity from 10 months on the lees: red apple, white peach, and citrus zest framed by a bready, slightly spiced mid-palate. The Cabernet Franc backbone keeps it from being simple, and the persistent mousse makes it genuinely fun to drink.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Red ApplePearWhite PeachBrioche
  • Style: Sparkling pet-nat; coppery rose-gold; red apple, pear, citrus, leesy brioche; 12.5% ABV; no added SO2
  • Grapes & Terroir: 80% Cabernet Franc, 20% Chenin Blanc; biodynamic (Biodyvin); clay-limestone and tuffeau soils; Le Puy-Notre-Dame, ~80m elevation
  • Winemaking: Méthode ancestrale; native yeast fermentation; 10 months on lees in bottle; unfined, unfiltered; no added sulfites; screwcap
  • Serving: Serve at 44-50°F; no decant needed; universal white or sparkling glass
  • Pairing: Oysters, fresh chèvre, gougères, charcuterie, fried seafood, savory crepes
  • Similar To: For fans of pét-nat, low-intervention sparkling, or Loire Chenin Blanc who want red-grape structure in their bubbles

Free Mousse is a pétillant naturel made by Guillaume Reynouard at Manoir de la Tête Rouge in Le Puy-Notre-Dame, a village roughly 20 km south of Saumur. The blend is 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Chenin Blanc, grown on clay-limestone soils with tuffeau chalk subsoil at around 80 meters elevation. The Mauges Massif, 40 km to the west, limits rainfall in the area, allowing Cabernet Franc to ripen fully into October.

This is méthode ancestrale sparkling wine: fermentation starts with native yeasts in tank, then the wine is bottled before fermentation is complete, trapping CO2 inside as it finishes. The wine spends approximately 10 months on the lees in bottle, which gives it a subtle bready, yeasty character alongside the orchard fruit. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered under screwcap with no added sulfites.

The result is a coppery rose-gold wine with a brisk, persistent mousse. Aromas lean toward red apple, pear skin, white peach, and citrus zest, with a light leesy breadth and a fresh, dry finish. The Cabernet Franc contributes a faint tartness and structure; the Chenin Blanc adds lift and aromatic brightness.

The wine is classified as Vin de France because the méthode ancestrale falls outside the rules of the Saumur AOC. The estate holds Ecocert organic certification (since 1998) and Biodyvin biodynamic certification (since 2010), and is a member of Renaissance des Appellations.

Works well as an aperitif alongside charcuterie, fresh chèvre, or gougères. The dry finish and acidity also make it a natural match for fried seafood, oysters, or savory crepes. It pairs with a strawberry tart if you want to go the dessert route.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Sparkling Wine
Wine Style:, Sparkling
Grapes:, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc
Farming:, Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:, NV
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, France
Region:, Loire Valley
Appellation:, Vin de France
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Manoir de la Tête Rouge

Manoir de la Tête Rouge takes its name from the manor house built in 1649 at the foot of the Puy-Notre-Dame hill in the Anjou-Saumur region of the Loire Valley, where an 11th-century church overlooks the vineyards. Guillaume Reynouard purchased the estate in 1995 with 13 hectares of vines planted on clay-limestone soils and has since expanded to 18 hectares. He also serves as president of the Syndicat des Vins de Saumur and has been active in reviving Pineau d'Aunis, a grape that was largely abandoned in the region; he planted it along with Grolleau Gris in 2015.

Reynouard converted the estate to organic farming in 1995 and obtained Ecocert certification in 1998. He then transitioned to biodynamic viticulture and received Biodyvin certification in 2010. The domaine is also a member of Renaissance des Appellations. In the vineyard, grass grows between rows and is mowed only once before harvest; no synthetic chemicals are used. Soils are worked mechanically to encourage deep root growth. All grapes are hand-harvested.

In the cellar, Reynouard works with native yeasts and avoids fining and filtration across his range. For Free Mousse, fermentation begins in tank then the wine is transferred to bottle to complete fermentation via méthode ancestrale, spending around 10 months on the lees before release. The wine is bottled under screwcap with no added sulfites. His broader range includes still Saumur rouge and blanc, Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame, and Vin de France cuvées from Pineau d'Aunis and Grolleau Gris.

Wine region

Loire Valley, France

The Loire Valley stretches roughly 1,000 km across central France, with the key wine communes concentrated between Nantes and Tours. The Saumur zone sits in the middle Loire, in the Anjou-Saumur subregion, and is defined by tuffeau chalk and clay-limestone soils that give wines crystalline acidity and mineral salinity. Le Puy-Notre-Dame, where Manoir de la Tête Rouge is located, sits about 20 km south of Saumur at an average elevation of 80 meters above sea level. The Mauges Massif, 40 km to the west, blocks significant rainfall during the growing season, creating a notably drier microclimate than other parts of the Saumur AOP and allowing Cabernet Franc to ripen fully, typically harvested in October.

The Saumur Puy-Notre-Dame AOC is a red-wine-only designation requiring a minimum of 85% Cabernet Franc; Free Mousse is classified as Vin de France because the pétillant naturel (méthode ancestrale) production method does not conform to the Saumur AOC rules. Soils in the appellation divide into two main groups: Turonian tuffeau chalk, most pronounced in the commune of Le Puy-Notre-Dame itself, and Jurassic limestone with silex further north toward Vaudelnay and Brossay. Topsoils are generally shallow, with 15 to 25% clay content. The Loire Valley as a whole holds 58 AOPs and is one of the largest organic wine-producing areas in France, with over 25% of Loire wine grown organically.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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