2022 Alain et Adrien Gautherin Chablis

The 2022 Alain et Adrien Gautherin Chablis comes from vines averaging 37 years old planted in Kimmeridgian clay-limestone soils, exceptional age for village-level Chablis that delivers lower yields and greater concentration than most bottlings at this classification. The domaine — now run by Alain Gautherin and his son Adrien — represents the fourteenth generation of the family to work these parcels, a lineage rooted in Chablis since 1585. This is pure, textbook Chardonnay from Burgundy's northernmost appellation, vinified entirely in stainless steel with full malolactic fermentation and extended lees contact to build texture without obscuring the mineral backbone. Domaine Raoul Gautherin et Fils has evolved under Alain and Adrien into an estate that balances tradition with renewed focus in both the vineyard and cellar. The family farms sustainably on the fossil-rich Kimmeridgian marl that defines the appellation, soils laid down 150 million years ago when this corner of Burgundy was submerged under a shallow sea. The estate sources from multiple parcels across the Chablis AOC, and the maturity of the vines — nearly four decades old — means roots reach deep into the limestone, pulling up the salinity and chalky minerality that separate great Chablis from generic cool-climate Chardonnay. Vinification is hands-off and reductive: stainless steel tanks preserve the purity of fruit, malolactic rounds out the acidity just enough, and time on lees adds weight without barrel richness. The 2022 vintage pours pale straw with green reflections and opens with lemon curd, wet stone, lime blossom, and a bracing thread of sea spray and oyster shell. On the palate it is medium to full bodied with a crunchy, high-acid spine and a long, saline, mouthwatering finish — the kind of wine that makes you reach for a dozen oysters on the half shell, grilled sole, or a platter of fresh goat cheese and charcuterie. The acidity makes it a natural match for rich, butter-forward preparations: poached lobster, roast chicken with cream sauce, or a simple plate of Comté aged eighteen months. Drink it now through 2028. Available for pickup at our Lincoln Park bottle shop at 1128 W Armitage Ave, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping.