30% Off Bottles

Magnum Variette Red 2018

Domaine Fond Cyprès

A blend of Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault: a full-bodied red with aromas of garrigue, blackcurrant, and blackberry. Pairs well with red wine stews: beef stew, gardianne, beef bourguignon, coq au vin, as well as roast red meats. Ideal with poached pears.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Alberto López Calvo - Vino Tinto (Red) 2009

Bodegas Coruña del Conde
Alberto López Calvo, the estate's historic Bordeaux-style cuvées are made with Tempranillo (75%), followed by Cabernet Sauvignon (20%) and Merlot (5%). These are beautiful wines with an intense garnet red color, elegant, complex, deep, and silky, with well-integrated tannins.

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Tinto Cosecha BCDC Red 2018

Bodegas Coruña del Conde
BCDC (the initials of the winery) is a 100% Tempranillo from vines planted at an altitude of over 1,000 meters. From the vineyard to the winery, all work is artisanal and carried out with respect for nature. The harvest is destemmed and macerated for 30 days in vats. Both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation take place in vats, and the wine is then aged for five months in old 500-liter French oak barrels. This 2018 was bottled in May 2020 and, as is Spanish practice, was left to rest for a few months before release. It is a full-bodied, dark, dense red that is full of personality and pairs well with red meats and grilled meats.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Pierra Menta White 2022

Jean-Yves Péron

Pierra Menta is an exceptional organic, biodynamic, and natural dry white wine from Savoie made by Jean-Yves Péron. Classified as a Vin de France, Pierra Menta is made from the Gringet grape variety. The winemaker plans to plant more vines of this ancient variety until he reaches half a hectare.

Vinification

Gringet, which makes up 100% of Pierra Menta, is a white grape variety native to Haute-Savoie, historically linked to the commune of Ayse, near Bonneville. Jean-Yves Péron's vines are planted near Albertville, on a south-facing mica-schist plot. Gringet has long been confined to the Bonneville region and traditionally produces low-proof, high-yield sparkling wines. It is an interesting, fruity, low-alcohol grape variety with notes of quince and strong minerality. Pierra Menta's gringets are macerated for two weeks in carbonic acid, then punched down for two months, and aged for one year in 300-liter barrels.

Tasting

The quince is evident from the initial olfactory and taste, and the minerality supports this note. White fruits, florality, plenty of structure, and a nice acidity. An incredible length, too... We thank Jean-Yves for this and move on to the food and wine pairings: fish, seafood, oysters and Middle Eastern cuisine.

Learn more about Jean-Yves Péron

Jean-Yves Péron is a talented embodiment of the organic, biodynamic and natural renaissance of the Savoyard vineyard, which is based on varied soils and numerous indigenous grape varieties (Jacquère, Altesse, Mondeuse, etc.). At his Chevaline winery in the Bauges region, he vinifies the grapes from his plots in Conflans, near Albertville, and Fréterive, in the Isère valley.

High-altitude biodynamics

Jean-Yves Péron's work follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow and steep surfaces, his mountain vines in micro-plots, worked by hand, do not receive any synthetic products, Jean-Yves preferring horsetail and nettle manure. All of Jean-Yves Péron's wines are sulfite-free, made from hand-harvested grapes, vinified in whole bunches and foot-trodden in the vat. For all vintages, the free-run and press are blended, then aged on lees for at least one year, in two- or three-wine barrels, amphorae or tuns, before final blending. They must be stored at a temperature below 18°C. No sulfites are added, or as little as possible, and the wines are not fined or filtered.

Italian-Savoyard trade

Since 2011, a trading activity has allowed Jean-Yves Péron to buy the harvest from neighboring organic winegrowers and to collaborate with winegrowers from Northern Italy: this is the I Vicini series, which allows him to diversify the terroirs and deepen his experiences in winemaking and aging.

Farmhouse Cider 2020,

Florian Bourrienne

This 2020 vintage farmhouse cider from Florian Bourrienne still bears the sweetness of its youth, but it is perfectly ripe for drinking. It already offers ample, evolved, and roundly fruity notes, which are the distinctive mark of this producer. You can let it age for at least another four or five years; it will gradually acquire airier, even fuller, and more vegetal notes evoking hay, flowers, and meadow, as well as flavors of ripe candied apple that we love to find in Florian's farmhouse ciders. The bubble is soft and fine, the aromatic palette asks to unfold, and in this regard, we advise you to decant this cider. Its faithful companions will be fresh, smoked or dried seafood, cooked, as well as charcuterie cooked the old-fashioned way and buckwheat pancakes.

To find out more
What mainly differentiates Florian Bourrienne from other cider producers is that he makes ciders for laying down, intended to evolve over the years. His orchard is in the heart of Calvados, in the Pays d'Auge, but outside the AOC in order to preserve the freedom and singularity of his ciders. We can speak, without hesitation, of natural cider, because the cider maker goes beyond organic to respect the traditional production method, delicate, patient and demanding enormous work. From his fifteen-hectare orchard planted with tall stems, he produces ciders for ageing, excellent to drink in their youth but sumptuous after several years. The blend is carefully measured according to the characteristics of each vintage. The fruit production is entirely organic and the fermentation processes—there are two for traditional cider—are slow and patient, so that the cider is made in the right way, using natural yeasts. These are preserved in the cider thanks to a light filtration that respects all the living elements capable of polishing the taste and aromas, but also facilitates the formation of foam, which must be just right: neither too strong nor too weak. It's difficult to manage, but the result is well worth it. These are mastered ciders, eminently delicious, marked by an extraordinary sweetness and roundness of apple. Over time, they acquire notes of acidity and astringency that gracefully reinforce their beautiful aromatic palette. Ciders of taste and pleasure, as delicious at the table as as an aperitif.

Hip Hip Chardonnay Blanc 2020,

Domaine de l'Octavin
Light, saline, slightly creamy, supported by superb acidity and a lovely minerality, Hip Hip Chardonnay makes no secret of its tropical notes (pineapple, papaya, mango) and its lovely citrus notes: orange and lemon peel, mandarin, lime. What richness! Added to this are white flowers, honeysuckle, oregano, white pepper, a lovely stony touch and perfectly balanced tannins. Clean and mineral finish. While it's true that Chardonnay works wonders in Burgundy, it also thrives in the Jura, where it finds its local style and is often paired with Savagnin. According to the method favored in the Jura, it frequently undergoes skin maceration. This Chardonnay was macerated here for two months in whole bunches in 2020 and aged in vats. Bottling was carried out in July 2021.

Find out more
“You don’t need anything,” says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l’Octavin, “just a grape that’s comfortable in its own skin.” Everything is said in favor of natural wine; it’s a perfect description. Created in 2005, Domaine d’Alice is located in Arbois, in this wine-growing Jura region, often described as the most organic vineyard in France. The habit of making – among other things – oxidative wines is a good preparation for natural wine, this type of wine allowing no chemical additives and especially no sulfites. It’s a secret of this magnificent region. Originally spread over two hectares, the estate, managed entirely biodynamically (Demeter) since 2010, has expanded through the gradual acquisition of plots and now covers seven hectares.
An accomplished musician and passionate music lover, Alice intends to apply her musical sensitivity to the wines she makes. She draws a parallel between the technical perfection of conventional wines, which risks excluding feeling, while "a musician who does not know music theory and plays with his guts creates emotion." For her, living wine is like this: instinctive, improvised, emotional. Introduced to natural wine by Stéphane Planche, sommelier at chef Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, she will faithfully follow this path. The sometimes whimsical titles of her vintages are inspired sometimes by musical art (Dorabella, Zerline), sometimes by the numerous plots of land that make up her vineyard (En Curon, Les Corvées, En Poussot, etc.), and do not disdain a pun from time to time. Likewise, the labels adorned with happy and salacious little gnomes are a signature of the estate. As for the grape varieties, they are the classics of the Jura - Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Chardonnay, Savagnin for the whites. Alongside her Arbois wines, Alice has created a business of "on the vine" grapes (Ecocert certified) with her winegrower friends from the region. Natural, committed, joyful and highly drinkable, the wines of Alice Bouvot are all the more coveted as the vintages, produced in plot-by-plot mode, appear, disappear and reappear depending on the vintage and inspiration.

BB Bobal Ancestral Sparkling Red 2019

Partida Creus
Fresh and tangy, a perfect aperitif and table wine, all this makes a beautiful identity card for BB Bobal Ancestral, a natural sparkling wine from Partida Creus. Its very pretty bouquet of red fruits with a hint of citrus peel and a creamy mouthfeel combines with a solid structure and intense flavor. While it has a special affinity with raw or cooked oily fish (sardines, mackerel, horse mackerel, tuna, or anchovies, the pairings are for guidance only), BB Bobal Ancestral is perfect with all kinds of dishes, from fish and seafood to grilled or roasted meats. As its name suggests, it is 100% bobal, a common grape variety in Spain but whose expression here is very original. Serve well chilled.

Find out more
Partida Creus is an important estate, both in terms of wine and history – we are talking here about the history of the vine in Catalonia. Massimo Marchiori and Antonella Gerosa, originally from Piedmont – and even from the Langhe region, where they know a lot about wines – first pursued a career as architects in Barcelona. But the wine bug tickles them, and soon they abandon the big city and its sophistication for the vineyards of southern Catalonia, in Bonastre in Baix-Penedés. There they find a quantity of abandoned vineyards planted with a dizzying diversity of traditional Catalan grape varieties, which they passionately revive to save these varieties – and their wines – from oblivion. For them, it's not just a matter of heritage rescue, no: it's a matter of taste and nature. Of natural wines, which they will never stop making from now on on these sandy, poor, clay-limestone or clay-gravel soils, poor and poorly irrigated, where the vines suffer to produce their best juice. Massimo and Antonella practice organic, biodynamic viticulture, entirely manual and natural to give new life to these wines. Vinyater, sumoll, garrut, monastrell, ull de perdiu, ull de llebre, sumoll, queixal de llop, cariñena, trepat, subirat parent, maccabeu, parellada, pansé, vinel·lo, bobal, cartoixà vermell or xarel·lo: Partida Creus is a veritable conservatory of native Catalan grape varieties. It also grows moscatel, grenache, merlot and cabernet (among others). Few wineries can boast growing so many different grape varieties. The wines reflect this diversity, with the winemakers striving to best convey the signature of the soil and the grape variety: single-variety wines are common among them, alongside extensive blends, all in the styles dear to Catalonia: still wine, "ancestral" sparkling wine, and even vermouth. The bottles themselves are works of art: bare glass, simply marked with two large stenciled initials that denote the vintage. The wines, fresh, vibrant, lush yet always straightforward and impeccably juicy and fruity, exude life. The arrival of a Partida Creus at the table always elicits cries of satisfaction.

Atelier 3 Rosé 2020

Belly Wine Experiment
Fresh, fruity, lively, and supple, Atelier 3 is officially a red, or at least that's how it's classified by customs because the blend contains white wine. Unofficially, it's a rosé, made from a direct press of underripe Gamay grapes and a few bits of Syrah and hybrid grape varieties. The whole is blended with carbonic maceration juice from Gamay and Riesling must. No chemical additives are used, either in the vineyard or in the winery. Classified as a Vin de France and with an alcohol content of 12.4%, this wine is a cocktail of grape varieties for a brilliantly lively result, perfect as an aperitif and when you need to wake up a sleeping atmosphere. A wine to wake the dead, as they say on such occasions.

To find out more
Founded and run by Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau, located in Chanteuges (Haute-Loire), Belly Wine Experiment is as much an experiment as a winemaking business. The creative duo has it in spades: Claire is the sister of Adrien Sage, a fan of underwater wine aging but above all an importer of Catalan wines. Hence the presence of Catalan grape varieties in Belly Wine Experiment's blends, alongside Burgundy, Auvergne, and Jura grape varieties, readily found in the same bottle. Aimé is the son of Manu Duveau, a poet-winemaker from Auvergne, a former stonemason, and a great winemaker of local Gamays at his Domaine de l'Égrappille. The unique feature of Belly Wine Experiment is the exoticism (in the literal sense) of the blends, with Xarel lo from Catalonia, for example, blending naturally with Gamay from Puy-de-Dôme. The wines are made using semi-carbonic maceration, without the addition of chemical additives or excessive manipulation in the cellar. The winery is also known for its high-quality, vinous perries.

Crucella Red 2019

La Vinicola di Antonio Gismondi

The estate's only red, Crucella is a beautiful blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, and the ancient local Freisa grape variety, which imparts a slight hint of musky red fruit, but the Sangiovese dominates. The harvest macerates for five or six days in stainless steel vats, then the wine is aged for seven to ten months in the same type of vat. Crucella is characterized by a nose of undergrowth, mineral and earthy, a lively and acidic attack on the palate, red fruit, cherry on the retro-olfaction, and tannins that are less present than the deep color would suggest. Definitely a good wine for laying down that will blossom over time.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

La Pinya White 2021

Belly Wine Experiment

The color is a very pale blond, like a linden infusion, slightly cloudy; La Pinya is a fresh, mineral, and aromatic dry white wine, lively and delicate, with a possible sparkle upon opening. In Belly Wine Experiment, there is Experiment, or experimentation. It's a principle that this small organic and natural wine merchant estate strives to demonstrate vintage after vintage. La Pinya, labeled with a pine cone, is a blend of equal parts of two indigenous Catalan grape varieties: Xarel lo and Macabeu from Pla del Penedès, harvested on clay-limestone soils. This blend is quite common in Catalonia, Claire Sage's native country. For this vintage, the Macabeu is worked directly from the press, then blended with crushed Xarel·lo. The whole thing is macerated for a week. This wine is organically grown and has received no chemical additives or sulfites, in the vineyard or in the cellar. Note that the natural formation of tartar may cause a slight foam when the bottle is opened. La Pinya should be stored upright and drunk chilled.

Find out more
Founded and run by Claire Sage and Aimé Duveau, located in Chanteuges (Haute-Loire), Belly Wine Experiment is as much an experiment as a winemaking business. The creative duo has a lot to offer: Claire is the sister of Daniel Sage, a fan of underwater wine aging but above all an importer of Catalan wines. Hence the presence of Catalan grape varieties in Belly Wine Experiment's blends, alongside Burgundy, Auvergne, and Jura grape varieties, readily found in the same bottle. Aimé is the son of Manu Duveau, a poet-winemaker from Auvergne, a former stonemason, and a great winemaker of local Gamays at his Domaine de l'Égrappille. The uniqueness of Belly Wine Experiment is the exoticism (in the literal sense) of the blends, with Xarel lo from Catalonia, for example, being able to sit alongside Gamay from Puy-de-Dôme with the utmost naturalness. The wines are made using semicarbonic maceration, without the addition of chemical additives or excessive manipulation in the cellar. The house is also known for its very high-quality, vinous perries.

I'm Natural Don't Panic #7 Red 2018

Bodegas Coruña del Conde
Julien López's I'm Natural, Don't Panic range consists of macerated wines. This 100% Tempranillo red is powerful, dense, and generous, but not lacking in freshness, the result of a high-altitude climate that subjects the vines to significant temperature variations. A lovely bouquet of red and black fruits. Decanting will allow it to express its full opulence. For grilled meats, roast lamb, grilled octopus, stews, cocido.
Ideally a wine to be decanted.
A natural wine with no added sulfites.

I Vicini Grignolino Red 2019

Jean-Yves Peron

It's in Savoie, in Chevaline, near Lake Annecy, that Jean-Yves Péron skillfully combines committed viticulture and merchant winemaking, both with a focus on nature. His Mondeuse reds are magnificent, as are his whites made from ancient local grape varieties—Jacquère, Altesse, Bergeron, and Persan—no less so. His current vineyard, three hectares biodynamic since the beginning, is divided between Conflans, near Albertville, and Fréterive, a little further downstream in the Isère valley.
Initially destined for a career in biochemistry, Jean-Yves quickly fell in love with the vine and trained as an oenologist in Bordeaux. He learned his trade as a winemaker with Thierry Allemand in Cornas, then with Bruno Schueller in Alsace, before spending some time in New Zealand and the United States. His trading activity, which he began in 2011, allows him to buy the harvest from organic winemakers close to home, but also in Northern Italy: for him, it is a new dimension to his work as a winemaker, allowing him to multiply the terroirs and deepen his experiences in winemaking and aging.
Jean-Yves Péron's winemaking follows the principles of minimal intervention. On narrow and steep surfaces, his mountain vines receive no synthetic products, Jean-Yves preferring horsetail and nettle manure. The surrounding vegetation is very rich: it protects the vines and helps to strengthen them. The soils are grassed, mown and reworked with a pickaxe and winch. The harvest is entirely manual. Once vatted in whole bunches, the grapes, both red and white, undergo a semi-carbonic maceration which allows the extraction of fresh fruit aromas. This maceration time varies between five days and nine weeks depending on the vintage. The day before or two days before pressing, Jean-Yves performs foot-treading directly in the vat. After this fermentation, the musts are sent to barrels for aging on lees for twelve months in five hundred liter barrels of two or three wines (to limit the woody sensation), followed by blending and resting in vats. No sulfites are added, or as little as possible, and the wines are not fined or filtered. Savoyard wine has long suffered from a somewhat flimsy image, not taken seriously enough. Yet, what treasures its varied soils and numerous ancient grape varieties produce! Jean-Yves Péron embodies the renaissance of this beautiful vineyard. Jean-Yves Péron's "I Vicini" series is made from organic grapes harvested in Piedmont. Here, the grape variety is Grignolino, known for producing relatively light-colored and very aromatic wines. The harvest is macerated for fourteen weeks in neutral oak and the wine is aged for one year in barrels. The wine is intense, powerful and structured, with a very pretty nose and a ruby red color.

Chat Zen White 2015

Domaine La Sorga

This wine is a blend of 40% Sauvignon Blanc (from twenty-seven-year-old vines) and 60% Chasan (a cross of Listan and Chardonnay; from forty-two-year-old vines) from sandy limestone soils near Carcassonne. The Sauvignon Blanc is directly pressed, and the Chasan macerates in the whole-bunch must for seventy days. It is aged for two years in vats. Notes of exotic fruits, dried banana, and curry: a rich aromatic palette perfect for blue cheeses, aged Comté, and Southeast Asian cuisine. Aging potential: twenty years.

Goes with: Asian cuisine, Cheeses

Ti'Blanc Blanc 2021,

Paul Estève


It's good, it's white, it's aromatic, it's light, it's fresh, and it's easy to drink, to say the least. The color is distinct, tending toward orange, due to a brief maceration of one of the grape varieties. Ti'blanc stands out as an ampelographic synthesis of the Domaine des Miquettes for the simple reason that it brings together all of its white grape varieties. 2021 was, in fact, a very rainy vintage with a heavy harvest: the resulting wines had low alcohol content. Chrystelle and Paul therefore gathered all their Viogniers, Marsannes, and Chasselas and made Ti'blanc instead of making their usual cuvées. It is therefore a unique wine, exclusive to this vintage. Only the Chasselas is macerated for two days, which gives it a distinct orange color and a certain structure. The Viogniers and Chasselas were pressed directly. Ti’blanc has a low alcohol content (10.5°) but a nice acidity; it will therefore keep a little, but we recommend enjoying it young.

To find out more
Paul Estève and Chrystelle Vareille are the creators of the Domaine des Miquettes, whose great specificity is the use of Georgian techniques. They are passionate about this country in the Caucasus, the cradle of wine, where eight-thousand-year-old winemaking techniques are still used. At the heart of this viticulture is the qvevri, the buried jar where all the winemaking takes place: fermentation with skin maceration and aging. They set out to discover this country and returned with the decision to age all their wines in buried jars. They have twenty-six, but distinguish between tinajas (Spanish jars) for fermentation-maceration and buried "amphorae" for aging. No sulfur is added. For both reds and whites, the terracotta erases astringency and transmutes it into a velvety texture, a fruity and supple material.
The estate, located in Ardèche, is south of the Saint-Joseph appellation. Paul trained with René-Jean Dard and François Ribo, two great figures of natural wine in the Rhône Valley. With Chrystelle, he began by taking over Paul's family farm with two ares of vines, then in 2004 the entire estate, which now covers 4.3 hectares. The white grape varieties are located around the house, the red grape varieties are planted on steep hillsides, between 300 and 450 meters above sea level. The plots rest on a granite base with light soils: black mica granite, schist, and gneiss. Everything is grown organically (Ecocert) using biodynamic practices. The vines are cared for and fortified using plant decoctions and clay. The soils are worked by horse or winch and pickaxe. No chemical inputs are added to the vineyard work. The harvest is entirely manual.

Skin Contact Feel Good White 2023

Coyade White 2015

Domaine Vinci

A voluptuous southern white wine born from a blend of Macabeu, Grenache Blanc, and Carignan Blanc planted in the Agly Valley, in the heart of Roussillon, Coyade comes from vines grown on a predominantly clay-limestone terroir. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel vats, and the three grape varieties were vinified separately before being blended. The color is intense and golden, with notes of straw and honey on the nose, and a slight oxidation on the palate that pairs perfectly with hard cheeses.

Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Nuits Saint Georges Aux Croix Rouges White 2021

Fréderic Cossard

Don't be fooled by the name of the climat on the label: this is a Nuits-Saint-Georges white, an object of curiosity but above all of delicacy: it is important to know that the appellation doesn't only excel in red wines; it also produces spectacular whites. This wine from the Aux Croix Rouges plot has a beautiful deep gold color, a magnificent nose, opulent, deep, and heady, with notes of white flowers. On the palate, there is plenty of presence and freshness, a beautiful honeyed and brioche-like palate. This superb Nuits-Saint-Georges white seduces with its rarity but also with its freshness and balance. The Pinot Blanc grapes from which it is made grow on marl-limestone soils. They are around forty years old. The harvest is directly pressed and the must is fermented without punching down. The aging is one year in concrete.

To find out more

Through his entirely natural work, Frédéric Cossard gives voice to the terroirs and Burgundy wines, undeformed by agricultural chemicals. Having observed, during his years of trading, the existence of harmful wine-growing practices, the winemaker used this counter-example to practice unadulterated viticulture. Thus, he produces vintages of purity and elegance without artifice that are among the most sought-after in Burgundy. Frédéric worked as a wine broker for some time before creating the domaine de Chassorney with his partner Laure in 1996: initially a few ares of vines in Saint-Romain, Auxey-Duresses and Savigny-lès-Beaune, and currently ten hectares spread across the Nuits-Saint-Georges, Pommard, Volnay, Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune and Bourgogne appellations. In 2006, he created his own wine trading house and buys organic grapes to vinify, according to his style and convictions, great vintages such as Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Pommard, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny, Vosne-Romanée and several Beaujolais crus. The practice is not limited to Burgundy since vintages are made from grapes purchased in the Jura or Languedoc. At his place, the work of the soil and the vines is done as naturally as possible: regular ploughing by horse, no addition of chemical fertilizers or weedkillers. The vines are cared for according to the principles of biodynamics: homeopathic treatments based on essential oils, copper and sulfur in minimal doses. The harvest is entirely manual, carried out at full maturity, at the end of October. Red or white, classic Burgundies or more atypical or less "regional" bottles, Frédéric's vintages are rare and coveted wines, which sometimes require waiting.

Maquis Red 2015

Domaine Vinci

Lledo what? Here's a deep red produced from Lledoner Pelut, a little-known Catalan grape variety. The Maquis cuvée reflects the quintessence of the clay-limestone soil, with the added bounty of Roussillon. The grapes are vinified in whole bunches, crushed by foot, then placed in cement vats. A captivating nose with notes of raspberry, confirmed on the palate, with a fairly pronounced tannic texture.
Natural wine with no added sulfites.

Magnum P'tit Poussot Blanc 2018,

Domaine de l'Octavin
Mineral and dry yet fruity, joyful and pleasant, this P'tit Poussot (En Poussot is the name of the plot) offers a nose of pear and opulent notes of apple, citrus, and pineapple on the palate, as well as plenty of freshness and acidity. Fresh and pleasant, perfect as an aperitif or with food. It is made from 100% Chardonnay, grown biodynamically on red marl soils and processed using direct pressing with vat fermentation. Bottled in September 2019, it is perfect for excellent charcuterie: even pata negra or Iberian chorizo. An excellent aperitif or table wine.

Find out more
“You don’t need anything,” says Alice Bouvot, winemaker at Domaine de l’Octavin, “just a grape that’s happy in its skin.” Everything is said in favor of natural wine; it’s a perfect description. Created in 2005, Domaine d’Alice is located in Arbois, in this wine-growing Jura region, often described as the most organic vineyard in France. The practice of making – among other things – oxidative wines is a good preparation for natural wine, this type of wine allowing no chemical additives and especially no sulfites. It’s a secret of this magnificent region. Originally spread over two hectares, the estate, managed entirely biodynamically (Demeter) since 2010, has expanded through the gradual acquisition of plots and now covers seven hectares.
An accomplished musician and passionate music lover, Alice intends to apply her musical sensitivity to the wines she makes. She draws a parallel between the technical perfection of conventional wines, which risks excluding feeling, while "a musician who does not know music theory and plays with his guts creates emotion." For her, living wine is like this: instinctive, improvised, emotional. Introduced to natural wine by Stéphane Planche, sommelier at chef Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, she will faithfully follow this path. The sometimes whimsical titles of her vintages are inspired sometimes by musical art (Dorabella, Zerline), sometimes by the numerous plots of land that make up her vineyard (En Curon, Les Corvées, En Poussot, etc.), and do not disdain a pun from time to time. Likewise, the labels adorned with happy and salacious little gnomes are a signature of the estate. As for the grape varieties, they are the classics of the Jura - Poulsard, Trousseau, Pinot Noir for the reds, and Chardonnay, Savagnin for the whites. Alongside her Arbois wines, Alice has created a business of "on the vine" grapes (Ecocert certified) with her winegrower friends from the region. Natural, committed, joyful and highly drinkable, the wines of Alice Bouvot are all the more coveted as the vintages, produced in plot-by-plot mode, appear, disappear and reappear depending on the vintage and inspiration.