Welcome to Domaine Gueguen

THE STORY 
Céline comes from a family of wine-growers, originally from Saint Bris & Chablis, she worked for her father Jean-Marc Brocard on his estate for 13 years. In 2013, Céline & Frederic decided to create their own wines. The style of their wines is deliberately modern with a permanent commitment to respect and expression of the terroirs identity. One of their main goals is to preserve the soil, which is why they use neither chemical fertilizers nor herbicides. Their vintages from 2015 onwards have been made using exclusively organic processes and the Domaine began its conversion to organic farming with its 2019 vintage. 

THE LAND
Chablis and Auxerrois Vineyard is a mosaic of terroirs with demanding climates. The diversity of plots is a challenge for the winemakers, and the balance between soil and micro-climate differs everywhere. They must have a unique understanding of what happens when a vineyard comes to life, by observing the wine and bringing all needed care to help the grapes ripen. Ripeness is essential to transfer the terroir to the bottle. The soil is ploughed to encourage the wines to extend their roots more deeply and therefore better express the typicity of the Terroir. 

The hillside vines grow on chalky clay soil, rich in minerals due to aquatic fossils. Much of the growing area is ploughed to conserve a maximum of the micro-organisms essential for soil health. Céline & Frederic now own 25 ha and grow 5 different grapes : Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Aligoté, Sacy.

THE WINE 
To preserve the environment, the vineyards are carefully managed. The Domaine carries out harvesting in small crates followed by rigorous sorting, and pays close attention to detail at every stage of the process. 

The grapes are sorted, then placed in a press to be slowly and progressively pressed. The juice is then left to decant over a twelve hour period, then put into vats to start the alcoholic fermentation. Once the fermentation has started, the lees ate then stirred to enrich the wine. 

The length of the fermentation and the frequency of stirring the lees depend on the vintage and the terroir of each wine. This is done with the objective of increasing the complexity of the wine and its aromatic complexity.