NV Michel Gahier - Macvin du Jura (750ml)

Michel Gahier is a quiet but highly respected winemaker whose family has lived in the Jura since 1525, farming a 6.5-hectare domaine concentrated in Montigny-les-Arsures, a village celebrated as the finest terroir for Trousseau in the entire region. Though the family estate dates back generations, Michel was the first to bottle wine under the Gahier name, developing his craft alongside his neighbor and close friend Jacques Puffeney, whose traditional Jura techniques and philosophy left a lasting mark on his winemaking.

Macvin is one of the Jura's oldest and least understood styles, a vin de liqueur made by boiling down fresh Chardonnay must and fortifying it with home-distilled Marc, a grape pomace brandy produced on the estate. The blend is then aged for several years in old oak barrels, a lengthy process that builds depth and complexity while pushing the alcohol to the sixteen to twenty-two percent range required by the appellation.

The result is rich and unctuous yet well balanced by acidity, with intense aromas of baked apple, dried fruit, quince, and toasted walnut, along with notes of orange peel and caramel on a warm, lingering finish. It makes an excellent companion to pungent cheeses, raclette, nut pastries, or simply on its own as a digestif.