2020 Michel Gahier Arbois Chardonnay Les Follasses B
WINEMAKER: Michel Gahier
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Organic
"The grapes for the Les Follasses, which benefit from white marl soils in the vineyard are manually harvested and sorted prior to pressing. The wine is made in the ‘ouillé’ style where the barrels are topped up during maturation so that the wine does not oxidise in the barrel. No sulphites are added to this wine at any stage.
This is a fresh, lively Chardonnay that is typical of this style of wine from the Jura with just a hint of those oxidative qualities that Jura aficionados just can’t get enough of. This wine has been 12.5% alcohol ever since we started importing it. This year it has crept up to 13% due to the higher temperatures being experienced due to the added carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane in the atmosphere." - Living Wines
Michel Gahier lives in the centre of the village of Montigny-les-Arsures which lies near the central town of Arbois. The reason this is significant is that Montigny is regarded as the finest terroir for the Trousseau grape in the Jura. When we first tasted his wines we were very excited by their purity and their minerality. Michel is a quiet but talented vigneron who tends his vines meticulously and watches carefully over his wines as they are maturing. He likes to make his wine using the traditional techniques of the Jura. Michel tends 6 hectares of vines of which 3 hectares are given over to Trousseau and the remainder is split between Chardonnay and Savagnin.