Martin Texier 'La Boutanche' Cinsault-Syrah 2022

From Selection Massale:

When we were first starting out, we quickly became disappointed with the lack of good natural wine in the $20 range. Not being the kind of people to say ‘well, it is what it is’, we got to work thinking about how we could remedy this situation. So, we started talking with our producers and, already knowing what we wanted - native yeast fermentations, low or zero SO2 additions, and the like; basically pure unadulterated glou glou that we could put into a liter-sized screw-top bottle and would be a great introduction to natural wine - it didn’t take long for us to find winemakers who were willing to partner with us on this project. All it needed was a name.

​The first run of Boutanche was back in 2012. As you may remember, it had a bright pink label that read ‘La Boutanche’ with pig in a Hawaiian shirt polishing off a glass of wine above that, and not much else. The juice inside was what mattered (at the time it was Gamay made by Maison PUR), and the juice inside seriously overdelivered for its low retail price. It was an immediate hit. Flash forward to today and there are many different Boutanche: the grasshopper (Andi Knauss), the fish (Frantz Saumon), the pig (Olivier Minot), the French bulldog (Quentin Bourse), the gorilla (Martin Texier), you name it. We are committed to expanding the line and having Boutanche be the first bottle you reach for around $20, either if it’s your daily go-to wine or if it will be your first natural wine experience. Boutanche is now synonymous with high-quality natty juice at a fair price, so stay tuned for new releases under this label.

Martin Texier (you may have heard of his father, Eric, the now famous northern Rhône natural wine producer) began making wine in 2014 after a previous life studying economics. After leaving university, he ventured into music (he is an accomplished DJ) and also spent time in New York City learning about the wine trade here (he held internships at both Uva Wines in Brooklyn and Flatiron Wines in Manhattan, as well as the greatest record store in the world, A1 Records). It was after this that he realized that his calling was to follow in his father’s footsteps and return to the vines.

He now has five hectares in and around St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban, planted to classic Rhône varieties, both red and white. There are many different soil types here: clay, limestone, gneiss, schist and granite, making for a wide range of different styles of wine to be made. Martin’s passion is to revive the local traditions of working the natural way, both in the vines and in the cellar (native yeast fermentations, no sulfur). The results he has been getting this early in his career are a clear testament to his skills.