In the late 1950’s, Raoul Gautherin founded his Domaine as we know it today, making wine from his family’s vineyards, which date back to 1585. Although Adrien Gautherin, Raoul’s Grandson, has walked in the vineyards and worked in the winery from a very young age, he officially joined the family business in 2008, alongside his father, Alain Gautherin. Alain and Adrien have taken the vineyard management and the winemaking to new heights for the family. Adrien’s winemaking philosophy is very simple, “To make great wine, you first need great grapes.” The winemaking starts in the vineyard with the highest quality fruit first. The family has 16.5 ha of vineyards total in Chablis with holdings in the Premier Cru’s of Vaillons, Montmains, and Mont de Milieu, along with holdings in the climats of Vaudesir, Les Clos and Grenouilles within Chablis Grand Cru. With minimal use of new barrels, Adrien’s ability to create rich yet bright and beautiful wines is developed through extended lees aging, no battonage and working with vineyards that have an average vine age of 38 years from his Chablis all the way up to the Grand Crus.
