The Gautier domaine in Vouvray has been in the family for seven generations. The origins are known to date back to the 17th Century, from a document noting the presence of vines around the Gautier house in 1669. Benoit Gautier, the present viticulturer, took charge in 1981. He began the policy of domaine bottling, whereas previously the wines were sold to negociants.

The domaine comprises 12 hectares of vines in the communes of Rochecorbon and Parcay-Meslay. The soil is the classic “Tuffeau” or limestone-chalk for which the central Loire is famous. The average age of the vines is 25 years. Gautier follows a policy of hand-picking for the still wines, while about one quarter of the grapes for his Sparkling wines are machine harvested. The harvest takes place over a period of 20 days in late September and October. The grapes are pressed in a new pneumatic press and fermented and matured in temperature-controlled stainless steel cuves. Depending on the year, some of the single vineyard wines are matured in old oak casks. The bottling takes place in April or May following the vintage, and the bottles are aged in a permanently cool cellars cut deep into the hillside. These cellars can be visited and the wines tasted by appointment.

The “Vouvray De Gautier” is winemaker Benoit Gautier’s selection from the vintage. It bursts with ripe and concentrated Chenin Blanc fruit. The gentle acidity is balanced with apricot, pear and honey notes and a just off-dry finish. This wonderful Chenin reflects the promise of the 2001 vintage in the Loire Valley. It is outstanding as an apéritif, with fowl and fish dishes, and with Asian or Indian cuisine.

The Wine Spectator comments: “Racy Vouvray, with green almond, quince and mineral notes, and a bright, lengthy finish….Nicely done.” (89 points)

In 2004, Gautier launches a new cuvee, ARGILEX. It derives from white clay (argile) soil mixed with crumbled silex or quartz in specific vineyards; sloping parcels in the communes of Rochecorbon and Parcay-Meslay. The silex particles embedded in clay often glisten in the sunlight. The wine is vinified at cold temperature and fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks to highlight the bright, racy fruit. The fine lees are kept in suspension until bottling, as they impart complexity and nuance to the wine. The ARGILEX 2004 vintage was bottled in March 2005.

The Clos la Lanterne is a particularly historic site. It is a hillside vineyard with limestone-clay soil, which spreads out beneath the “Lantern of Rochecorbon,” an old watch tower, with a commanding view of the Loire Valley. The exceptional exposure and microclimate gives wines of compelling flavor and intensity. Speaking of this vineyard, Roger Voss, in his book The Wines of The Loire, comments “here was a mature Demi-Sec Vouvray from the classic 1985 vintage that revealed how the wines can develop after their closed-up period: a wine of great ripeness and richness, with a deliciously-perfumed, slightly dusty character and hints of minerals, superbly balanced, and promising years ahead of it.”

As the ideal Fall 2005 season proceeded, Benoit Gautier decided to leave a small, ¾ of a hectare parcel of grapes in the commune of Parcey-Meslay with which to make a late harvest cuvee, called Cuvee du 5 Novembre 2005. In late October, he did two tours of the vineyard to eliminate any grapes that were not ripening well, so that all of fruit at harvest would be uniformly healthy and mature. Gautier harvested on November 5th, as the grapes had reached a level of 210 grams per litre of sugar. The yield was a mere 20 hl/ha. The choice of November 5th was dictated by the first frost of the season, which occurred in the early morning hours of that day. Gautier hurried to pick the fruit between 8 and 9:30 in the morning, when the temperature was still just below freezing. The time of picking had a two-fold significance: the frost had concentrated the juice while preserving acidity, and, because the day had yet to warm up, there was no excess moisture on the grape skins. Fermentation proceeded naturally for four months. The entire cuvee was matured in five, 225 litre barrels, all of which were five years old. The wine rested on its lees until it was bottled in September 2006. The final residual sugar level is 160gl/l. The entire production of Cuvee du 5 Novembre was bottled in 2000, 500ml bottles. It offers a magnificent balance of intense sweetness and notes of tropical fruit with great freshness derived from the fruity acidity of the Chenin Blanc grapes. It can be enjoyed now or aged to bring out the secondary flavors and aromas unique to Chenin Blanc.