Description
The Gahier family has been resident in the Jura since 1525. The family domaine is 6.5 hectares with the vineyards concentrated in the village of Montigny-les-Arsures, the place recognized as the home of Trousseau. Michel Gahier has learned from the best. Gahier is a neighbor and friend of Jacques Puffeney, both living in Montigny-les-Arsures, a viticultural district that is acknowledged to produce some of the finest wines of the Arbois appellation. His observations and ongoing dialogue with Puffeney have instilled skills and sensibility that produce undeniably outstanding wines that clearly express the very particular terroir of this corner of the Jura.
Gahier harvests and vinifies his wines parcel by parcel. Each wine ultimately is derived exclusively from a single vineyard site. His whites are produced sous voile; the reds are as mineral-driven as one could expect from the Jura, with a freshness and length that are compelling. The viticulture is organic (although not “certified”). The reds are destemmed; the yields are quite low (averaging 30 hectoliters per hectare). There is a period of cold maceration followed by a cuvaison of approximately one month with some pigeage done in the initial parts of the process. The wines, both white and red, are aged in old foudres and barrel. The wines are bottled without filtration.
Les Bérangers: Lying next to “Les Grands Vergers” is the equally well-situated vineyard of “Les Bérangers,” the source for the legendary red cuvée from Gahier’s neighbor, Jacques Puffeney. Earlier in his career, out of respect for his mentor, Gahier did not put this vineyard name on his bottles. Now with the retirement of the “Pope of Arbois,” Gahier releases a wine (only in magnum) designated from the fabled vineyard. This is a classic interpretation of Trousseau from perhaps its best spot in the entire appellation—a wine that will reward many years of cellaring.
