Guillaume Michaut
Guillaume Michaut has been surrounded by vineyards and the history of Chablis since childhood. His grandfather was an early believer in the wines of Chablis and worked proudly to expand the Chablis appellation to his village of Beines and beyond. By the 1960s, he was able to pass a rather large holding of vineyards down to his sons. As a teenager, Guillaume worked alongside his father and uncles in the vineyards and joined the family domaine in 2004. However, after his father passed away, Guillaume realized that his vision was starkly different from that of his uncles, and decided to set out on his own with his small share of family vines in 2018.
These vineyards represent just over one hectare altogether: 0.4 hectares of Chablis in Vau Brou, which he helped plant in 2000, and a 0.6 hectare block in the Premier Cru of Beauroy, which stretches from Beines nearly to the town of Chablis. Michaut’s parcel was planted in 1980 and is located more precisely in the lieu-dit Côte de Savant, found just outside of the town of Beines and across from the retention lake that his grandfather helped create in the 1960s. Recently, Guillaume was able to add a little over two hectares of Petit Chablis that he planted in 2020.
After working a year-long internship long ago with Nicolas Maillet in the Mâconnais, Guillaume developed an interest in organic farming and low-intervention winemaking. Equally as important, he adopted a winemaking philosophy that respects the terroir and the vineyard over the process and the winemaker. Setting out on his own was an opportunity to put this belief into action. This began with promoting the place by naming his domaine 47 N 3 E, which refers to the longitude and latitude of his hometown of Beines. We’ll refer to his wines as Guillaume Michaut, which also appear on the labels, as we think it’s just an easier/better name for the wines, but either name for the domaine can definitely be used.
In the cellar, all wines are vinified with native yeasts and aged without sulfur, though a small amount is always added at bottling. The Chablis is vinified and aged entirely in stainless steel tanks. He produces two Premier Cru wines from Beauroy and Côte de Savant. Fruit for these cuvées comes from the exact same vineyard, which can be labeled as Beauroy *or* Côte de Savant. Beauroy is aged in stainless steel, while the Côte de Savant is fermented and aged in 500 liter demi-muid.
Wines
Chablis
Varietal: Chardonnay
Color: White
Farming Practice: Organic
Michaut’s Chablis comes from a tiny parcel in the valley outside Beine called Vau Brou (Vau means valley in the local dialect). Guillaume helped plant the parcel in 2000 when he was a teenager. This is a perfect introduction to Michaut’s wines – it’s at once a textbook example of great Chablis, but at the same time highlights the terroir and unique stamp of the producer. Farming: Organic with biodynamic practices Vine Age: planted in 2000. Vineyard Size: 0.39 ha. Exposition: southwest. Altitude: 150 m. Vinification: Natural settling at low-temperature for 36 hours. The juice is vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel with native yeasts, then undergoes malolactic fermentation. Elevage: 10 months on fine lees in stainless steel with no SO2 added. Bottled unfined with light filtration, and a small dose of SO2. Vegan.
Chablis 1er Cru Beauroy
Varietal: Chardonnay
Color: White
Farming Practice: Organic
Michaut’s 0.6 hectare parcel of Beauroy is located just outside his hometown of Beines, across from the reservoir his grandfather helped create in the 1979. Beauroy stretches quite a ways from Beine towards Chablis, and Michaut’s vines are in a lieu-dit within Beauroy called Côte de Savant (translates to wise-man’s hill). Michaut produces two wines from this same parcel. The Beauroy bottling is fermented and aged in stainless steel. Like all of Michaut’s wines, this cuvée is vinified with native yeasts and without anything added during elevage (a small amount of SO2 is added at bottling). Farming: Organic (in conversion) with biodynamic practices Vine Age: planted in 1980. Vineyard Size: 0.62 ha. Exposition: southwest. Altitude: 150 m. Vinification: Natural settling at low-temperature for 36 hours. The juice is vinified in temperature controlled stainless steel with native yeasts, then undergoes malolactic fermentation. Elevage: 10 months on fine lees in stainless steel with no SO2 added. Bottled unfined with light filtration, and a small dose of SO2. Vegan.
Chablis 1er Cru Cote de Savant
Varietal: Chardonnay
Color: White
Farming Practice: Organic
Michaut’s 0.6 hectare parcel of Beauroy is located just outside his hometown of Beines, across from the reservoir his grandfather helped create in 1979. Beauroy stretches quite a ways from Beine towards Chablis, and Michaut’s vines are in a lieu-dit within Beauroy called Côte de Savant (translates to wise-man’s hill). Michaut produces two wines from this same parcel. Like all of Michaut’s wines, this cuvée is vinified with native yeasts and without anything added during elevage (a small amount of SO2 is added at bottling). The Côte de Savant is vinified and aged in 500 L oak demi-muids. Farming: Organic (in conversion) with biodynamic practices. Soil: Kimmeridgian limestone. Vine Age: planted in 1980. Vineyard Size: 0.62 ha. Exposition: southwest. Altitude: 150 m. Vinification: Natural settling at low-temperature for 36 hours. The juice is vinified in 500L oak barrels with native yeasts, then undergoes malolactic fermentation. Elevage: 10 months on fine lees in demi-muids with no SO2 added. Bottling with no fining, light filtration, and a small amount of SO2. Vegan.