A completely unclassifiable rendition of Chardonnay that is really only analogous to the style of his former boss Guy Blanchard. Montbled 21 feels like Jerome’s white wines at their most meditative. VA finesse and sour apple candies uplifting your soul.

Domaine Sauveterre

Jérôme Guichard is a quiet, humble and hard working guy who spends the majority of his life out in the vines. In 2011 after several years working alongside the legendary Guy Blanchard, he bought an old farmhouse and just under three hectares of old Chardonnay vineyards in the commune of Montbellet in the Mâconnais.

Both the farmhouse and vineyard had been in Monsieur Blanchard’s family for generations, with the vines having been tended the only way the family knew how, organically, since 1917. In this less storied part of Burgundy, mixed agriculture was practised, ensuring great biodiversity. The vineyards are surrounded by forest and planted over that classic Burgundian mix of clay and limestone, the proportion of which varies between the parcels.

Jérôme also tends a little over a hectare of Gamay where the Mâconnais meets Beaujolais in Leynes. Planted in 1946 over black volcanic soils, the vines produce deeply savoury expressions of the grape. He keeps a further hectare of Gamay planted over limestone in Uchizy, which produces vibrant, luminous wines.

In the vineyards, Jérôme continues the work of his mentor, with a focus on helping the vines retain health naturally, through the use of herbal plants and organic teas. In the cellar, wines rest in old barrels until ready and are bottled in small lots, often directly from the casks.

Nothing is added at any stage and the resulting wines are deep, heady and sometimes challenging for the faint of heart. However, for those who appreciate his work, they offer energy, textures and perfume we rarely associate with Burgundy.