Buxières-sur-Arce

100% Pinot Noir Dosage 0g/l The vines grow on a demeter-certified 3.5 hectare plot, oriented to the southwest on so-called Kimmeridgian soil in Biaunes and Vouette. Average age of the vines: 40-50 years The unbranched vines are pressed with a traditional Coquard press and fermented in 400 and 228 liter wooden vats without the addition of yeast. After fermentation, the wine remains in the barrel on its lees for up to 10 months, during which time it undergoes malolactic fermentation. Approx. 95% from one year with a Minimum share of a perpetual reserve (start 2001) The champagne is bottled unfiltered and without dosage. Peter Liem: The primary wine of the estate is a blanc de noirs called Fidèle, made entirely of pinot noir and almost exclusively from Kimmeridgian soils in Biaunes and Vouette. It’s largely composed of a single year, with just three to seven percent of reserve wine, stored in a perpetual blend (a sort of mini-solera) started in 2001.    

100% Chardonnay Dosage: 0g/l Peter Liem: In 2004, Gautherot began bottling a pure chardonnay called Blanc d’Argile, from the Biaunes vineyard. The vines here are young, having been planted in 2000, and unlike Vouette, which faces south, Biaunes has a western exposure, meaning that the grapes take a long time to ripen. Yields tend to be very low (a mere 15 hl/ha in 2004, resulting in only 1,100 bottles being produced), as Gautherot prunes the chardonnay here to only five bunches per vine, and this is well-reflected in the ample, mouth-filling character of this wine.  

100% Chardonnay Dosage: 0g/l Peter Liem: In 2004, Gautherot began bottling a pure chardonnay called Blanc d’Argile, from the Biaunes vineyard. The vines here are young, having been planted in 2000, and unlike Vouette, which faces south, Biaunes has a western exposure, meaning that the grapes take a long time to ripen. Yields tend to be very low (a mere 15 hl/ha in 2004, resulting in only 1,100 bottles being produced), as Gautherot prunes the chardonnay here to only five bunches per vine, and this is well-reflected in the ample, mouth-filling character of this wine. 

100% Pinot Noir  Dosage: 0g/l Vinified in oak  At least 3 years of bottle maturity  

60% Pinot Noir, 40% ChardonnayDosage: 0g/lApart from Fidele and Blanc d'Argile Gautherot has two other cuvées, although both are in virtually anecdotal quantities—a mere 200 bottles of each. The first is a vintage-dated pinot noir / chardonnay called Extrait, which was first made in the 2002 vintage and intended to be aged on its lees for ten years. Upon tasting the wines in the cellar, however, Gautherot decided that the 2003 was more forward, and so this vintage was the inaugural release, appearing in 2012. Originally, this cuvée was intended to be reserved for friends and family, but beginning with the 2005, Gautherot has made small quantities available for sale.The second wine is called Sobre, and it is intended to be a champagne made exclusively from grapes, with nothing added whatsoever, not even yeasts or sugars—the fermentation in bottle is achieved with the natural sugars of the must, although whether this is truly a méthode ancestrale or made by adding fresh must as a liqueur de tirage, Gautherot refuses to say. It is made entirely of chardonnay, and the first release was from the 2005 vintage, although it is not vintage-dated.