Producer – Mikaël Bouges

Most conventional wine makers will use animal products for fining their wine, such as egg white or casein. Fining being the process of removing the fine particulate matter after the fermentation process such as yeast cells and proteins, to make the wine crystal clear.

Natural wine makers on the other hand eschew intervention and strive for as little manipulation in the wine making process as possible. They will therefore avoid filtration and fining and with it the need for any animal products, resulting in vegan friendly wines.

Therefore you will often find natural wines have a noticeable amount of sediment in the bottle, or appear hazy or cloudy. Natural winemakers tend to use the process of racking as the sole method of removing as much of the sediment from fermentation as possible. The wine will be allowed to settle in its fermentation vessel so as much sediment as possible settles at the bottom. The resulting clearer wine is then pumped to a new vessel with the sediment left behind.

Mikaël Bouges
Les Côts Hauts 2020

Inky Malbec (the eponymous Côt) that is much brighter and crunchier than most would expect of the grape. As always with Mikaël's wines, there is a noticeable mineral imprint; that hard-to-define aspect of wet stones or patio paving following rain on a hot day. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Malbec
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£20.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
La Pente De Chavigny 2022

Bone-dry Touraine Sauvignon Blanc in a classical expression that really harnesses the mineral imprint of the alluvial gravel soils over which it is grown. Steely and precise, with sharp lime citrus. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Sauvignon Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£20.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
Clic Clac 2023

Electric Touraine pet nat from a producer with a deft hand for the style. A refreshing balance of zippy green apple and lemon citrus, opening to ripe pear and melon. The overall character is unmistakably Loire and makes for a note-perfect aperitif. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Menu Pineau & Chardonnay
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£24.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
Prométhée 2022

Like all of Mikaël's wines from the dry 2022 vintage, there is a chiselled structure and profound minerality, the vines having reached deep down to the limestone bedrock for nutrients. White peach and spices with taut acidity and a delicate, honeyed quality, neatly balanced out with a pronounced salty minerals. A wine of precision and poise. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Chenin Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£26.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
French Clara 2023

Less steely and with softer edges than his more classical staple 'La Pente de Chavigny', this feels open and expressive, but never anything other than laser-beam linear. Juicy green apple, elderflower and ripe pear come together in a salivating meld, with a line of raw lemon citrus cutting it all through - without intervention, none of Mikaël’s whites complete malolactic, giving the wine some good vibrancy and edge. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Sauvignon Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£22

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
Water l'Eau 2022

A restrained, nuanced wine made with 100% Menu Pineau, grown over alluvial limestone gravel. A pale green-gold in the glass, with shy citrus aromas, on the palate there is a delicate balance of pear and green melon, softened by a subtle touch of barrel influence. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Menu Pineau
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£26.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
Les Couilles d'Anes 2021

A serious wine with a silly name - Couilles d'Anes translates as 'donkey balls', a colloquial term coined by the local vigneron to describe the unusual black stones that can be found dotting the vineyard soils in certain locations. A delightfully aromatic vintage, bright cherry and bramble fruits meld with a violet perfume in the glass. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Côt
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£28

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
La Roseur 2023

Simple, thirst-quenching rosé made from the same base wine as his La Bulle pet-nat, a direct press of Gamay and Côt. It's a straightforward vinification, similarly completed in steel only and then bottled young. The style is less fruit-forward, more lean and savoury - little red fruits sit below a more prominent saline minerality. With a good chill this is one of those no-brainer pours for those moments when more is more. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Gamay & Côt
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£19.50

Quantity

Mikaël Bouges
La Pente De Chavigny 2022 MAGNUM

A limited, large-format magnum bottling of Mikaël's entry-point white made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a mixture of five different parcels, each planted over gravelly limestone. The grapes are direct-pressed, then fermented and raised in steel for a pristine, bone-dry and whistle-clean style. Find out more.

  • Region Touraine, Loire, France
  • Grapes Sauvignon Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, minimal additional sulphites
£46.50

Quantity