Vegan Wine Region|Ardèche, Style|Cloudy Funky + Wild | Wayward Wines

Region – Ardèche

Most conventional wine makers will use animal products for fining their wine, such as egg white or casein. Fining being the process of removing the fine particulate matter after the fermentation process such as yeast cells and proteins, to make the wine crystal clear.

Natural wine makers on the other hand eschew intervention and strive for as little manipulation in the wine making process as possible. They will therefore avoid filtration and fining and with it the need for any animal products, resulting in vegan friendly wines.

Therefore you will often find natural wines have a noticeable amount of sediment in the bottle, or appear hazy or cloudy. Natural winemakers tend to use the process of racking as the sole method of removing as much of the sediment from fermentation as possible. The wine will be allowed to settle in its fermentation vessel so as much sediment as possible settles at the bottom. The resulting clearer wine is then pumped to a new vessel with the sediment left behind.

Le Mazel
Cuvée Les Lèches 2024

Ripe and textural with layers of tropical fruits, spices and a bright mineral backbone from the limestone. This year the wine is dry and clear-cut, with smoky peaches, herby fennel, aniseed and zesty citrus oils coaxed out by the southern heat. A nourishing country wine with plenty of Mazel soul. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Grenache Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£25

Quantity

Le Mazel
Cuvée Paulou 2024

Crackling with a bright, nervy energy, the fruits have a pleasing balance of tart raspberry and plum. There is something iron-rich and bloody at its core and the mineral imprint of the limestone can be felt distinctly in the finish. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Cinsault
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£22.50

Quantity

Patricia & Rémi Bonneton
La Tangente 'Ho'oponopono' 2023

A hazy, sandy gold in the glass, there is an abundance of intense apricot and pineapple fruits with a peach iced tea-like quality and long, herb-flecked finish. Find out more.

  • Region Étables, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Viognier, Marsanne & Roussanne
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£34

Quantity

La Vrille et le Papillon
Q Blanc 2024

Lithe and lean this year and heavy on the yellow citrus, there is the raw attack of freshly squeezed lemon with something more oily and pithy to soften the edges. As ever, this is infused with their trademark herbal bay laurel character and the low finished alcohol lends a tonic quality. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Ugni Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23

Quantity

Le Mazel
Cuvée Raoul 2024

Vivid ruby Carignan and another delightfully light, luminous vintage, already to drinking superbly in its youth. Fruit is freshly crushed black and red cherry with a herbal lilt of wild fennel garrigue and light balsamic twang, towards a lovely sense of limestone minerals in the finish. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Carignan
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23.50

Quantity

Le Mazel
Cuvée Charbonniéres 2022

Demi-sec Chardonnay that is textured, vinous, and heaves with sweet/sour citrus fruit. A mean foil to fiery Southeast Asian dishes; the residual sugar really comes into its own in this context. A particularly wild Mazel vintage. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Chardonnay
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£25

Quantity

Petite Nature
Danser Sous la Pluie 2023

100% Merlot that did not ferment completely dry, so Paulette elected to bottle with a little residual sugar, giving the wine that wide-eyed drinkability and lightly spritzy character. Bright red fruits feel luminous and crackle with energy, a lick of balsamic cuts the palate. Find out more.

  • Region Quintenas, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Merlot
  • Vineyard Organic & Biodynamic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£41

Quantity

Le Mazel
MazelRoz 2024

Plum, beetroot, pomegranate, tomato... lots of atypical descriptors making for a truly unique wine that is certainly not for everyone, but fans of Mazel's more challenging output will surely rejoice! Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Syrah, Grenache & Merlot
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£23.50

Quantity

Le Mazel
Cuvée Les Lèches 2024 MAGNUM

Ripe and textural with layers of tropical fruits, spices and a bright mineral backbone from the limestone. This year the wine is dry and clear-cut, with smoky peaches, herby fennel, aniseed and zesty citrus oils coaxed out by the southern heat. A nourishing country wine with plenty of Mazel soul. Find out more.

  • Region Valvignères, Ardèche, France
  • Grapes Grenache Blanc & Sauvignon Blanc
  • Vineyard Organic
  • Cellar Fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered & unfined, no additional sulphites
£52

Quantity