2020 Michel Gahier, Arbois, La Fauquette Melon

Michel Gahier stewards his Montigny-lès-Arsures estate with a commitment to organic viticulture and traditional oxidative techniques, focusing here on the rare Melon à Queue Rouge biotype of Chardonnay. For the La Fauquette bottling, Gahier utilizes spontaneous fermentation and four years of maturation *sous voile* in neutral 400-liter barrels, a technical decision that prioritizes savory, architectural depth over primary fruit. The fruit originates from old vines rooted in the appellation’s distinctive blue marl soils, which provide the foundational mineral core and saline tension necessary to balance the oxidative process. In the 2020 vintage—a warm, high-intensity year marked by an early harvest—the wine attained significant mid-palate density and concentrated dry extract while retaining a sharp, nervy acidity. This structural weight is seamlessly integrated into a fine-grained, persistent finish that reflects the concentrated physiological ripeness of the season.