# Cailloux (NV)

- **Producer:** Patrick Bouju
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Pinot Noir, Gamay
- **Region:** Auvergne, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €40
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, violet, black pepper, smoke, mushroom, forest floor, leather

## About this wine

Patrick Bouju established Domaine La Bohème in the Puy-de-Dôme area of Auvergne after studying viticulture in Beaune. His interest in zero-intervention winemaking stems from personal sensitivity to commercial wine additives. The cuvée 'Cailloux', meaning pebbles, takes its name from the volcanic basalt and limestone soils found throughout his old-vine vineyard parcels.

## Interesting facts

- Patrick Bouju turned to natural winemaking after discovering a severe physical sensitivity to commercial sulfites.
- The cuvée name 'Cailloux' translates directly to 'pebbles', referring to the stony basaltic soils of Puy-de-Dôme.
- Sourced from ancient vines aged between 80 and 120 years, farmed organically with horse plowing and botanical tea sprays.

## Food pairing

The lively acidity, soft tannins, and stony mineral tension of this natural red pair seamlessly with roasted fowl, pork, and wild mushroom preparations. The wine's fresh structure balances fat without dominating subtle flavors.

## Wine making process

Grapes undergo whole-cluster and semi-carbonic maceration for approximately 17 days, followed by spontaneous fermentation driven by native yeasts. The wine ages for 12 months in a combination of old French oak barrels and sandstone amphorae. Bottling is done unfined, unfiltered, and without any added sulfur dioxide.