2022 Michel Gahier Arbois Chardonnay Lou Blanc

WINEMAKER: Michel Gahier
REGION: Jura, FR
VARIETY: Chardonnay
VITICULTURE: Organic

"The grapes for the Lou Blanc cuvée, which benefit from limestone and clay 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 as much in the barrel because there is no “head space” of oxygen in the barrel." - 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.