We’ve imported Chablis from the Domaine Gautheron for nearly a decade. Winemaker Cyril Gautheron’s precise, elegant, well-priced white Burgundies have become a staple at our warehouse tastings, our kitchen table, and the cellars of many of our readers. Jasper Morris MW is also a fan, writing recently, “I must say that Cyril Gautheron’s wines are climbing up my table of Chablis producers.”
Gautheron’s wines burst with juicy, stony fruit and lipsmacking flavor. Cyril uses oak barrels sparingly, and only to offer a whisper of support for the intense, concentrated fruit. His humble Petit Chablis and Vieilles Vignes are beautifully made and terrific values. But it’s in the premier crus that Cyril really flexes his winemaking muscle.
We’re excited to offer Gautheron’s Chablis 1er cru “Montmains” for the first time, a cuvée made from very old vines on Chablis’s Left Bank. Morris had high praise for Gautheron’s Montmains 2021, awarding 92-94 points and remarking “well done,” “very typical left bank fruit,” and “pure and even quite intense white fruit with a lime citrus finish.”
Cyril simply knocked this wine out of the park. There’s a surprisingly ample body (think sweet cream butter) accompanied by lots of supporting acidity, suggesting terrific complexity and very good aging potential. It’s beautifully elegant but especially vibrant, with loads of flavor channeled into an intense, concentrated, long mouthfeel. No rush to drink this, but it’s a real treat already.
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Gautheron Chablis 1er “Montmains” 2021
bottle price: $45
