Michel Gahier "Lou" Arbois Blanc, Jura, France 2023

FROM ROSENTHAL:

THE WINE: 100% Chardonnay. “Lou” is a relatively new cuvée for Michel, from 45-year-old Chardonnay vines in Montigny-lès-Arsures he recently acquired from his brother-in-law. Like “Les Crêts”, it spends two years in demi-muids and is kept topped up, but “Lou” displays more fruit-driven heft and lurking mineral power.

THE PRODUCER: We fell for the wines of Michel Gahier while dining with the Thevenet family at the Table de Chaintre, a lovely little bistro in the Maconnais. Yes, not the Jura! But, the young couple running the restaurant had just finished a stage at Jean-Paul Jeunet, the esteemed restaurant in Arbois, and brought their love of Jura wines with them. So, I ordered a bottle of 2005 Trousseau "Grands Vergers" and knew that I had to contact Gahier the next morning.

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, as neighbor and friend of Jacques Puffeney. 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.