Since 1585 respecting the traditions
Raoul Gautherin et fils is a family estate in Chablis transmitted from father to son for many generations. The wines are made according to the regional traditions to let them express the inimitable clay-limestone soil of the hillside vineyards around the Serein river. The grapes are cultivated sustainably, and the wines demonstrate the purity of the terroir not masked by excessive oak. Today the Domaine is run by a father and son duo – Alain and Adrien Gautherin.
VertdeVin: Where does the name of the property come from?
Adrien Gautherin: Raoul is the name of my grandfather who was a vigneron like many of his ancestors but he also started to bottle and turned the family tradition into a business. And then my father continued his work. We are not going to change the name of the Domaine, you will not see Domaine Alain et Adrian Gautherin because I don’t think it makes any sense.
Could you tell us about the history of the Domaine?
A.G.: It is not difficult! I represent the 14th generation of my family whose history dates back to 1585. My ancestors always processed land and vineyards but it was polyculture at that time as everywhere. My great-grandfather was growing vegetables in the plot of Grenouilles. The first bottlings were made by my grandfather in the 1950s.
Why have you personally decided to make wine and not anything else?
A.G.: My father never forced me to follow in his steps. After school when I had to choose my further studies I decided to go to the Viticultural College of Beaune. So, at first, it was mostly winemaking that interested me but later I also acquired some knowledge in viticulture which is the most important, commerce and management.
How many hectares do you work? How are they distributed between appellations? What is the total production?
A.G.: Almost 17 ha. The biggest part is Chablis, then I have a big plot of Premier Cru with Vaillons that
represent 25% of the Domaine’s surface. I have some Grand Cru vineyards and some Petit Chablis, but even more Grand Cru than Petit Chablis, 1.23 ha of Grand Cru versus 1.1 ha of Petit Chablis. In a perfect year, I can go up 125.000 bottles. .
Do you work with your own grapes only?
A.G.: I don’t have a merchant license, so I can’t buy grapes from other farmers, so I work only with the grapes produced by the Domaine. And also I don’t sell any of them vinifying everything myself. From time to time, I can sell some juice to the merchants in bulk, but the primary goal is to keep all the production for ourselves.
A.G.: My father never forced me to follow in his steps. After school when I had to choose my further studies I decided to go to the Viticultural College of Beaune. So, at first, it was mostly winemaking that interested me but later I also acquired some knowledge in viticulture which is the most important, commerce and management.
How many hectares do you work? How are they distributed between appellations? What is the total production?
A.G.: Almost 17 ha. The biggest part is Chablis, then I have a big plot of Premier Cru with Vaillons that
represent 25% of the Domaine’s surface. I have some Grand Cru vineyards and some Petit Chablis, but even more Grand Cru than Petit Chablis, 1.23 ha of Grand Cru versus 1.1 ha of Petit Chablis. In a perfect year, I can go up 125.000 bottles. .
Do you work with your own grapes only?
A.G.: I don’t have a merchant license, so I can’t buy grapes from other farmers, so I work only with the grapes produced by the Domaine. And also I don’t sell any of them vinifying everything myself. From time to time, I can sell some juice to the merchants in bulk, but the primary goal is to keep all the production for ourselves.
Among the wines that you produce what is your favourite one? Maybe not in terms of taste, but in terms of work and vinification?
A.G.: I love Vaudésir but also Vaillons, our biggest vineyard in terms of surface (1/4 of the Domaine) where I can experiment and make several different styles of vinification because I have a certain volume.
What is your market strategy?
A.G.: The main export markets at the moment are the USA, Japan, and Russia. I sell almost nothing in France for 2 years. I like export markets, maybe this comes from my passion for travelling.
What are the distinctive characteristics of your wines when you taste them side by side with other producers? How can you identify your cuvées in a comparative blind tasting?
A.G.: I vinify each cuvée in a different style. We often find that producers have a particular style vinifying all their range in the same way. What I also notice is that many producers use a lot of oak for their Premier and Grand Crus. My Premier Crus are never aged in oak and even for some Grand Cru, like Grenouilles, I use stainless steel tanks only.
Do you have any particular projects for the Domaine?
A.G.: Our main project is to increase the quality every year. I believe if we don’t progress every vintage, we are going to regress, so every time I try to do better than before. There is always room for improvement.
What does the wine represent for you at the moment in a global sense?
A.G.: Passion! I stand for the principle that if you don’t have passion for what you do, you cannot do it perfectly. So one has to have a lot of passion to make wine as there is a lot of effort but sometimes very little result. This year’s vintage for example was very poor. But sometimes you achieve great results and that is enormously satisfying.
Thanks to Adrien Gautherin for sharing his time – Valeria Tenison
Domaine Raoul Gautherin
3 Av. Aristide Briand
89800 Chablis – France www.chablis-gautherin.com
