Michel Gahier

Gahier harvests and vinifies his wines parcel by parcel. Each wine ultimately is derived exclusively from a single vineyard site. His whites are produced both ouillé (topped-up) and sous voile (left to form a protective veil of yeast), though all have a minerality that distinguishes them as jurassien. The Vin Jaune is a testament to the old traditions of the Jura, and many of Gahier’s Vin Jaune barrels are a century old, acquired from Jacques Puffeney’s cellar after his retirement. The same “yeast mother” living in these barrels that nurtured Puffeney’s wine for so many years is now safely ensconced at chez Gahier.

Gahier’s home base of Montigny-lès-Arsures is known charmingly as “The Capital of Trousseau,” and may well produce the most thrilling, layered, and dynamic renderings of the grape variety in the entire Arbois appellation. Gahier’s viticulture is organic; 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 bottled without filtration.