Domaine du Bouchot

Domaine du Bouchot is a winery with about ten hectares of vineyards planted entirely with sauvignon blanc. The winery is located in Saint-Andelain in the southern part of Pouilly Fumé, near the Loire River. Until 2018, Pascal and Rachelle Kerbiquet were the owners, and under their leadership they had been working biodynamically here for decades, making them true pioneers within the AOP Pouilly Fumé. This was especially notable when they were also certified organic in 2009.

In 2018, they found an able successor in Antoine Gouffier, who took over Domaine du Bouchot with his wife Ilse Nel. Antoine grew up in the village, but spent the previous 12 years traveling around the world in various places as a backpacker. So he spent time in America, but also spent considerable time in Argentina working at the Clos de Los Siete winery, where he worked with flying winemaker and legend within the wine world Michel Rolland. He then apprenticed in South Africa with Duncan Savage, where he also met his wife Ilse Nel. So he already had the necessary experience in winemaking before he decided to return to his native soil.

Immediately upon his return, he began planting new vines and renovating Domaine du Bouchot's wine cellar. Although the estate had been working biodynamically for years, Antoine also received biodynamic certification from Demeter for his wines a year later, in 2019. Following this philosophy, Antoine remains continuously committed to increasing biodiversity and nature within his vineyards. At times, he also receives help with this from former owner Pascal Kerbiquet, who, as an expert in biodynamics, is also something of a mentor to Antoine.

Antoine tries to vinify his wines with as little intervention as possible, focusing on terroir. No chemicals are used during the making of the wines either. In addition, he implements, for the Loire, relatively new techniques such as aging in amphorae, and works with the latest equipment in the wine cellar. In 2022, his hard work was rewarded when he was named discovery of the year by La Revue du Vin de France, an award presented to him by French President Macron. So it is certainly not for nothing that these wines can be found on wine lists in the great gourmet restaurants of France.

The soil composition in Pouilly-Fumé is unique, a combination of limestone and flint that gives character to the wine that you won't find anywhere else in the world. Because Gouffier influences the process as little as possible, you can taste the expression of the unique soil composition beautifully in each wine. He works on two different soil types in the Loire: limestone (Portlandian limestone, Caillottes) and marl (Kimmeridgian limestone, marl with small oysters). From these soil types, he produces five different cuvées:

- Pouilly Fumé Caillottes (meaning "limestone")
- Pouilly Fumé Terres Blanches (meaning 'white soil')
- Pouilly Fumé MCMLV (1955, the date of planting of these vines)
- Pouilly sur Loire Chasselas
- Orange wine (5 months maceration on the skin)

Bouchot's wines are pure, expressive and incredibly balanced. Because of the biodynamic approach, these are not "polished" sauvignon blancs, but rather more rustic, with minerality nicely balanced with fruit and fresh notes. Antoine Gouffier's star is still rising, but given the quality of the wine, it is not surprising that his wines have become highly sought after within a short time.