Domaine Raoul Gautherin

France, Burgundy
www.chablis-gautherin.com

Who knew that there was a top domaine in Chablis with a wide range Grands Crus, without a UK importer in 2025? Well thank you Neal Martin for this one - what a great discovery!

Clearly Raoul and his son Alain (who I am sure I visited in another, pre-L&S life, in about 1985 or 1986) have put this domaine on a fantastic footing. Judging by the 1992 Montmains which I drank with Alain's son Adrien, Alain himself was no slouch at winemaking either. But it seems that the arrival of Adrien in 2017 has added a whole new level of precision and intent.

What is truly remarkable is the way that many of the wines are treated individually for their own specificity - the Chablis is cold fermented and aged in tank, the Chablis Vieilles Vignes is aged 12 months in barrel, The Montmains is vinified and aged in concrete eggs, the Lys is aged up to 24 months in tank, the Vaudésir aged in barrel, and then the Vaudésir Reserve is aged longer yet in tank.

Our first tasting here was a revelation, and we very much look forward working with Adrien over the long term.

I introduced this domaine’s wines in last year’s report, so readers can find background information in the producer profile attached to those tasting notes. This came about after Winemaker Adrién Gautherin dropped into my tasting. Duly impressed by his wines, I made a quick pit stop at his winery in Chablis ville this year.

“In 2024, we lost around 30% of the crop, which is not so bad. I cannot complain,” Gautherin told me. “We had just a little frost, a little hail, a little mildew. Hail damaged six or seven of our 17 hectares. We found that some tanks are eating the SO2 more quickly, so you have to adjust the addition accordingly.”

This is definitely an up-and-coming producer to keep your eye on. Despite the travails of the 2024 vintage, Gautherin managed to eke out some lovely wines that I tasted from barrel. Keep a lookout for his Vaudésir, which outsmarts the Les Clos. Alas, some cuvées comprise just a single demi-muid, so the wines will be difficult to find. So, seek out the 2023s that have much to offer and keep your fingers crossed that volumes in 2025 will be back to normal.

Neal Martin, www.vinous.com  (Jun 2025)


HIDE