Les Grands Vergers 2023 – Michel Gahier

Even though Michel Gahier is quite an established figure in the French natural wine community and he lives right next door to world famous winemakers such as Jacques Puffeney and Stephane Tissot, he has for some reason managed to stay under the radar outside of France. His wines are non the least among the most precise expressions of the Trousseau grape and the Arbois terroir. 

Michel took over his father’s land in Montigny-les-Arsures a couple of kilometers north of  Arbois in 1990 and quickly decided to change what had until then been a traditional french agriculture with crops, a bit of livestock and a vineyard into a proper winery. Today Michel cultivates 7 hectares of vineyards around the village planted with Trousseau, Chardonnay, Melon le Queue Rouge and Savagnin. The age of the vines ranges between 25-80 years with sub-soils consisting of white, blue and red marl for the Trousseau and limestone and clay for Chardonnay, Melon le Queue Rouge and Savagnin. The vineyards have never been exposed to chemical products and since the very beginning Michel has been making use of organic and biodynamic practices and recently got fully certified by Nature & Progress. According to Michel his soils are so fertile and the vines so healthy that the wine basically makes itself, he simply helps bring forth the true qualities of the Arbois terroir.

Although Michel is a humble man, he creates pure and mineral natural wines that remain characterful, deep and flavourful.