Domaine des Trouillères

The call of the volcanoes

Far from the puys of Auvergne, Mikaël grew up in Tahiti, in the mountains of this volcanic island, born of a Polynesian father and a Finnish mother. As a teenager he met a local farmer who was the first to make him aware of the land, its value and its work. If history or archaeology fascinated him, it was the vineyard that he chose for his studies, heading for Bordeaux and a BTS in wine-making at the Lycée Agricole de Blanquefort.

A friend of his at school made him aware of natural wines and the diversity of the terroirs of the Loire, and it was there that he gained his first experience, working in turn with Olivier Lemasson, Hervé Villemade and Thierry Puzelat. This was followed by experiences in Chile, Argentina and finally in Bordeaux, as second cellar master at Château Dillon.

While he and his partner Camille, an archaeologist, were looking to settle in the Languedoc and start their own winery, she was offered a 12-month contract in the Auvergne... it was love at first sight for this region with its volcanic landscapes that reminded Mikaël of his youth in the mountains of Tahiti. By chance, Mikaël met Jean-Pierre Pradier, president of the Puy de Dôme wine federation and one of the initiators of the Côtes d'Auvergne AOC, owner with his brother of the Domaine des Trouillères. The alchemy takes, the domain, which has been run organically since 2009, is to be handed over and the successor seems to have been naturally found.

In 2016, Mikaël and Camille pack their bags and take over this 6-hectare estate, which produces Gamay, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, on the plateaux between the Corent and Tobize puys, on mainly clay-limestone and basalt soils, forged by hundreds of years of volcanic activity, at an altitude of between 380 and 500 metres.

Vintage after vintage, Mikaël imposes his own style, manual harvesting in small boxes, spontaneous fermentation, ageing in jars, reduction or elimination of sulphur doses... The results are there, honest, fresh and spicy wines, connected to their land, expressive and striking.