# Michel Gahier Arbois Trousseau Les Grands Vergers (2019)

- **Producer:** Domaine Michel Gahier
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Trousseau
- **Region:** Jura, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.5%
- **Average price:** €45
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, raspberry, plum, rose, black pepper, forest floor, mushroom

## About this wine

Domaine Michel Gahier is situated in Montigny-les-Arsures, long regarded as the capital of Trousseau in France's Jura region. Michel Gahier took over the family domain in 1990 as the first generation to focus entirely on estate bottling. His signature vineyard parcel, Les Grands Vergers, sits directly behind his house with vines dating back to 1929. Mentored by legendary neighbor Jacques Puffeney, Gahier maintains traditional, non-interventionist farming and cellar practices in this unique terroir.

## Interesting facts

- The oldest vines in Les Grands Vergers were planted in 1929 by Michel Gahier's grandfather.
- Michel Gahier learned his winemaking from his neighbor Jacques Puffeney, known as the 'Pope of Arbois'.
- Les Grands Vergers is located directly contiguous to Puffeney's renowned Les Bérangères vineyard.
- Montigny-les-Arsures is widely considered the ultimate Grand Cru spot for Trousseau in Jura.

## Food pairing

Trousseau's bright acidity, delicate tannin structure, and subtle spice complement lean meats, dark fish, and earth-driven mushroom dishes without overwhelming them. Regional Jurassic cheeses like Comté mirror the wine's earthy complexity.

## Wine making process

Harvested manually from low-yielding vines averaging over 80 years old grown on red clay-marl and limestone soils. The Trousseau grapes are 100% destemmed and fermented spontaneously with wild yeasts in neutral vessels. A cold maceration is followed by one month of skin contact with gentle early pigeage. Aging takes place over 12 months in large neutral wooden foudres and old oak casks without any new oak influence. The wine is bottled unfined, unfiltered, and with zero added sulfites.