After what has been far too long, we are very happy to share some new wines from Jérôme Guichard of Domaine Sauveterre.
A quiet, humble and hard working guy, Jérôme 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.
The farmhouse and vineyard had been in Monsieur Blanchard’s family for generations, with the vines having been tended 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, the wines rest in old barrels until ready and are bottled in small lots, often directly from the casks, rendering wines that possess energy, textures and perfumes we rarely associate with Burgundy.
The majority of these wines come from the 2021 vintage, a year that has produced vivid, perfumed wines that are staggeringly good in their youth.
Jérôme’s wines are now available on Tutto a Casa