MCMLV: whoever deciphers these letters on the label holds a key in their hand: 1955. The year in which the oldest vines of Domaine du Bouchot were planted. More than 60 years later they still stand in the soil of Saint-Andelain and yield the house's most concentrated wine.
Antoine Gouffier took over this exceptional heritage in 2018. The
Revue des Vins de France promptly named him its discovery of the year 2022. No wonder: his wines combine international experience, from Argentina to South Africa, with the radical purism of the first certified organic domaine in Pouilly-Fumé.
From Argentina to Pouilly
Before Antoine Gouffier took over Domaine du Bouchot, he spent twelve years travelling the wine world. In New York he got to know the American distribution system, and in Argentina he worked for a year with
Michel Rolland at Clos de los Siete. Then he was drawn to South Africa to work with
Duncan Savage, and it was there that he met his wife Ilse Nel, a trained chef who now runs the domaine with him.
This international schooling shapes his style: Antoine looks for riper fruit than many of his neighbours, without sacrificing freshness. He ferments spontaneously with indigenous yeasts, uses neither enzymes nor fining agents and adds minimal amounts of sulphur only shortly before bottling. Since 2020 all the wines have carried
Demeter certification.
Starfish and oysters in the soil
The domaine's 10 hectares are spread over some 15 parcels with two strongly contrasting terroirs. On the
Caillottes, calcaire à astéries dominates, limestone studded with fossil starfish, along with the porous calcaire de Tonnerre. This is where the fuller, more structured
Sauvignon Blancs such as the
Caillottes are made.
The
Terres Blanches, by contrast, consist of weathered Saint-Doulchard marl with Exogyra virgula oyster fossils and fine layers of iron-bearing glauconite. The result: fruitier, more floral wines. The
Terres Blanches shows this character in its clearest form.
The number 1955
The
MCMLV is the heart of the domaine. The Roman numeral stands for 1955, the year the oldest parcels, Les Coûtes and Les Sapins, were planted. On just 0.46 hectares grow vines whose roots have reached more than six decades deep into the Terres Blanches. The result is a wine of impressive density and ageing potential.
Pioneer and experimenter
Rachel and Pascal Kerbiquet, Antoine's predecessors, were organic activists from the very beginning. In 2009 du Bouchot became the
first estate in Pouilly to be certified organic, in a region that to this day works more conservatively than neighbouring Sancerre. Antoine carries on this pioneering spirit: he has renovated the cellar, experiments with amphorae and, with his Vin Orange, makes the appellation's only skin-macerated wine.
The rare Chasselas from the Pouilly-sur-Loire AOC is also part of the range, a relic from the time when this variety dominated the region. Today only a few hectares of it remain. At
Huet in Vouvray, another biodynamic Loire pioneer, you will find the same passion for forgotten traditions.
