Coup de Foudre & the Black Schist
Domaine Yoyo is the estate of Laurence Manya Krief — known to everyone as Yoyo — in the Cru Banyuls and the foothills of the Albères, in Roussillon, Occitanie, France. After a career in the textiles industry in Paris, a coup de foudre vinique in 2005 led her to acquire 2 hectares of abandoned vines overlooking the Mediterranean in Banyuls-sur-Mer. Today the domaine spans 10 hectares across 12 parcels: the heart of the Cru Banyuls on black schist; the Albères foothills on granite; and since 2021, a dream parcel facing the Baie de Paulilles with the sea as its horizon. Certified organic since 2008, the estate is farmed by a tight team of four — Laurence, Laurie, Cameron (the king of the motoculteur, 10+ years), and Jackie — who tend century-old Grenache and Carignan, adolescent Mourvèdre, and young Syrah with animal traction, motoculteur, and the Catalan pickaxe (xadic), harvesting into 13 kg crates in an atmosphere of joie and bonne humeur. The wines are carbonic and semi-carbonic, unfined, unfiltered, and bottled with only 1 gram per hectolitre of sulphur — wines that capture the warmth of the Mediterranean sun, the salty breeze of the ocean, and the magic of the schist and granite that anchor them.
Textiles in Paris & the Vinous Lightning Bolt
The story of Domaine Yoyo begins not in a vineyard but in a Parisian atelier, where Laurence Manya Krief worked in the textiles industry — a world of fabric, commerce, and the relentless rhythm of the city. It was a life she describes as often "materialistic", and by the mid-2000s the need for a deeper connection to her work had become urgent. She wanted to work with her hands, to see the results of her labour in the earth rather than on a spreadsheet, and to free herself from the urban machine.
In 2005, the lightning struck. A coup de foudre vinique — a love affair with wine — led her to the village of Banyuls-sur-Mer, just miles from her hometown of Perpignan, where she purchased 2 hectares of small, abandoned vineyard plots clinging to the hills above the Mediterranean. The vines were a mix of adolescent Grenache, frisky young Mourvèdre, and century-old Grenache and Carignan anchored in black schist. It was not an inheritance; it was a rescue mission. She named the estate after the nickname her friends had always called her — Yoyo — and set about converting the vineyards to organic farming immediately.
The growth was steady and driven by passion. In 2009, with the bug firmly in her blood, she added 3 more hectares in Banyuls. In 2010, she expanded into the Albères foothills, taking 3 hectares on granitic arena between sea and mountain. And in 2021, she realised a long-held dream: 2 hectares facing the Baie de Paulilles, with the Mediterranean as the daily backdrop. Today, the 10 hectares are spread across 12 parcels in two distinct terroirs, farmed by a team of four who have become a family. The estate received its organic certification in 2008 and has never looked back.
"En 2005, après un coup de foudre vinique, nous faisons l'acquisition de 2 hectares sur Banyuls sur mer."
— Domaine Yoyo
Banyuls & the Albères Granite
The 12 parcels of Domaine Yoyo are divided between two radically different terroirs that together give the estate its range and character. The Banyuls vineyards lie in the heart of the Cru Banyuls, on the steep, terraced hillsides that plunge toward the Mediterranean. The soil here is black schist — ancient, fractured, and so steep that the vineyard is not mechanisable. Work is done by animal traction, motoculteur, and the pioche catalane (xadic), a traditional Catalan pickaxe used to break the schist and carve terraces by hand. The old vines — some over 100 years old — have roots that penetrate deep into the schist bedrock, extracting minerals and surviving the hydric stress of a landscape where the sun is relentless and the sea breeze is the only coolant.
The Albères parcels sit on the granitic arena of the foothills, between the sea and the mountain, at the lower slopes of the Pyrenean range that separates France from Spain. The granite soils are lighter, sandier, and more acidic than the schist of Banyuls, producing wines of greater aromatic lift, floral delicacy, and mineral freshness. Some parcels here also contain gneiss. The exposure is varied, the altitudes range from sea level to over 300 metres, and the combination of maritime influence and mountain coolness creates a microclimate of warm days and fresh nights that preserves acidity in a region notorious for heat.
The farming is organic and phytotherapeutic. Synthetic herbicides, fungicides, and chemical fertilisers are entirely rejected. The team applies organic and vegetal amendments, and since 2020 has established green manure crops between the rows despite the difficulty of the terrain. Preventive vine treatments use fermented plant extracts — phytotherapy rather than chemistry. New plantings are grafted vines with massale selection taken from the estate's own century-old vines, ensuring genetic continuity and adaptation. The vines are purchased from trusted nurserymen such as Bérillon. Yields are naturally low, varying between 10 and 20 hectolitres per hectare depending on the parcel, the variety, and the age of the vines — a function of the old vines, the poor soils, and the deliberate refusal to push for volume.
The Banyuls parcels are located in the heart of the Cru Banyuls appellation, on steep, terraced hillsides of black schist that plunge toward the Mediterranean Sea. The schist is ancient, fractured, and rich in minerals but poor in organic matter, creating natural water stress and forcing vines to root deeply into the bedrock. The vineyard is not mechanisable due to the extreme slope; all work is done by animal traction, motoculteur, and the traditional Catalan pickaxe (xadic). The old vines — Grenache and Carignan over 100 years old — are head-trained or bush-vined, with gnarled trunks and deep root systems that have adapted to the schist over generations. The proximity to the sea provides a moderating influence and a saline breeze that preserves acidity and adds a subtle maritime character to the wines. The landscape is rugged, dry, and dramatically beautiful — terraced vineyards, dry stone walls, and the constant presence of the Mediterranean below.
The Albères parcels sit on the granitic arena of the Pyrenean foothills, between the Mediterranean and the mountain peaks that mark the Spanish border. The soils are lighter, sandier, and more acidic than the Banyuls schist, providing excellent drainage and a cooler microclimate due to the altitude and mountain air drainage. Some parcels also contain gneiss. The granite produces wines of greater aromatic lift, floral delicacy, and mineral freshness, with a distinct stoniness that separates them from the denser, more structured schist wines. The vegetation here is a mix of garrigue, oak scrub, and wild herbs that influence the vineyard ecosystem. The parcels range from lower foothill sites to elevations over 300 metres, creating a diversity of ripeness and acidity within the same estate. The landscape is greener and more sheltered than the exposed Banyuls terraces, but equally wild and untamed.
Domaine Yoyo has been farmed organically since 2005 and certified since 2008. The philosophy is one of absolute respect for the living ecosystem of the vineyard. Synthetic inputs are entirely rejected. The team applies organic and vegetal amendments to build soil life, and since 2020 has established green manure crops between the rows to fix nitrogen and improve soil structure. Preventive treatments use phytotherapy — fermented plant extracts that strengthen the vines' natural defences rather than attacking pathogens with chemicals. The team maintains biodiversity corridors and allows wild flora to colonise the vineyard edges, creating a balanced ecosystem where beneficial insects and natural predators control pests. Harvest is exclusively by hand into small 13 kg crates to preserve grape integrity, and the atmosphere in the vineyard is deliberately one of joy and good humour — a reflection of Yoyo's belief that wine should be made with happiness, not anxiety.
The estate's viticultural patrimony is exceptional: century-old Grenache and Carignan vines, some planted over 100 years ago, anchored in the black schist of Banyuls. These old vines produce naturally low yields of small, thick-skinned berries with intense flavour and mineral concentration. New plantings use grafted vines with massale selection taken from the estate's own oldest vines, ensuring genetic continuity and preserving the specific adaptations that these varieties have developed to the local schist and granite. The plants are sourced from trusted nurserymen such as Bérillon. Yields are deliberately restricted to between 10 and 20 hectolitres per hectare — a function of old vine age, poor soils, severe pruning, and natural water stress. This is not high-yield agriculture; it is the preservation of a living archive of Mediterranean viticulture, where each vine is known individually and tended by hand.
Carbonic, Stainless Steel & the 13kg Crate
For Yoyo, the cellar is a place of gentle transformation — not a laboratory for correction, but a quiet room where the schist and the granite can finish their conversation in liquid form. The guiding principle is one of low-intervention honesty: spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration, no fining, no filtration, and only the lightest possible touch of sulphur. The wines are designed to express the warmth of the Mediterranean sun, the salty breeze of the ocean, and the mineral magic of the black schist and granite — nothing more, nothing less.
Harvest is conducted by hand into small 13 kg crates to keep the grapes intact and unbruised until they reach the cellar. Reds are generally fermented using carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration in stainless steel tanks — a technique that preserves the primary fruit aromatics, reduces tannin extraction, and produces wines of extraordinary drinkability and freshness. Maceration times vary from 7 to 15 days depending on the cuvée and the vintage. Some wines are destemmed; others are left whole-cluster. The free-run juice is often kept with the must during fermentation to add complexity and volume. After pressing, the wines are aged briefly in barrels or demi-muids — typically 3 to 6 months — with no new oak dominance, only the quiet rounding that time in wood provides.
The whites and skin-contact wines are treated with equal delicacy. Grapes are directly pressed or given short macerations (4 days for the Carignan in Restaké, for example) before fermentation and ageing in tank or barrel. No fining, no filtration at any stage. Sulphur is added at a minimal 1 gram per hectolitre (approximately 10 mg/l) for most cuvées — enough to ensure stability during transport but never enough to mask the wine's natural expression. Only KM31 is bottled with zero added sulphur, a testament to the perfect health of the old-vine fruit and the cleanliness of the cellar. The result is a portfolio that is alive, fragrant, and deeply Mediterranean: wines that taste of sea salt, wild herbs, sun-warmed stone, and the joy of their maker.
Carbonic Maceration, 13kg Crates & the 1 g/hl Rule
The guiding principle of Domaine Yoyo is that the wine is made by the vineyard, spoken by the black schist of Banyuls and the granite of the Albères, and bottled with nothing corrected. The organic farming provides healthy, complex grapes. The hand-harvest into 13 kg crates preserves berry integrity. The carbonic and semi-carbonic maceration in stainless steel captures fruit and freshness without aggressive extraction. The brief barrel ageing provides rounding, not flavouring. And the 1 gram per hectolitre of sulphur provides just enough protection to let the wine travel, while the zero-sulphur KM31 proves what is possible when the fruit is pristine and the cellar is clean. The cellar is not a factory; it is a continuation of the hillside — a place where stainless steel patience, carbonic generosity, and the refusal to fine or filter translate Mediterranean fruit into wine that is joyful, honest, and unmistakably of Yoyo.
La Negra, Akoibon & the Banyuls Cuvées
Domaine Yoyo produces a focused, terroir-driven portfolio of red, white, and rosé wines from 10 hectares of organically farmed vineyards across 12 parcels in Banyuls-sur-Mer and the Albères foothills. The range is built around old-vine Grenache and Carignan — some over 100 years old — with supporting roles from Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Grenache Gris. All wines share a common foundation: hand-harvested fruit into 13 kg crates, spontaneous fermentation with carbonic or semi-carbonic maceration in stainless steel, brief ageing in barrel or demi-muid, and bottling with no fining, no filtration, and only 1 g/hl of sulphur (except KM31, which is zero sulphur). The result is a range that is as Mediterranean as it is honest: fragrant, mineral, sun-kissed, and deeply tied to the schist and granite of Roussillon — a testament to the conviction that the best wines are made with joy, patience, and absolutely no pretence.
Yoyo & the Baie de Paulilles
Domaine Yoyo is not merely a winery; it is a proof that a woman leaving the Paris textile industry can, with a coup de foudre and a Catalan pickaxe, build one of the most joyful and respected natural wine estates in Roussillon. In an era when the region is often associated with overripe, over-oaked, and over-extracted wines, Laurence Manya Krief has demonstrated that the same Mediterranean sun can produce lightness, the same black schist can produce freshness, and the same century-old vines can produce wines of immediate pleasure rather than ponderous weight. Her work is a testament to the possibility of elegance in the extreme south.
The legacy of Domaine Yoyo is the legacy of joyful rigour. The organic certification, the phytotherapy, the green manure, the animal traction, and the 13 kg crates are not marketing tools but daily labour — the work of a team of four who have learned to farm 10 hectares of impossible slopes without mechanisation. The carbonic maceration, the stainless steel, the brief barrel ageing, and the 1 g/hl of sulphur are not stylistic choices but practical necessities to translate healthy fruit into clean, stable, delicious wine. And the atmosphere of joie and bonne humeur that pervades the harvest is not an affectation but a philosophy — a belief that wine should be made with happiness, and that the drinker should taste that happiness in every glass.
The future of the estate is tied to the future of the old vines and the new parcel facing the Baie de Paulilles. As the century-old Grenache and Carignan continue their slow conversation with the black schist, as the granitic Albères parcels mature into their third decade, and as the 2021 acquisition by the sea develops its own voice, Domaine Yoyo remains what it has always been: a one-woman love affair with the Mediterranean, a team of four with dirty hands, and a cellar where stainless steel and carbonic patience translate schist and granite into wine that is alive, fragrant, and unmistakably of its place. The story of Domaine Yoyo is the story of a Parisian who looked at an abandoned hillside and saw not ruin, but possibility — and who proved that the best wine from Banyuls is the one that needs no explanation, only a glass, a sunset, and the patience to let the schist speak.
"Les vendanges s'effectuent dans la joie et la bonne humeur avec des petites caissettes de 13 kg pour préserver les grappes intactes."
— Domaine Yoyo