Domaine Goisot
Domaine Goisot
【Pure Saint-Bris, a mirror of the very essence of terroir】
The Goisot family are based at Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, between Saint-Bris and Irancy, where Ghislaine and Jean-Hugues took over the domaine in 1979.
The cellars in which Jean-Hugues and his son Guilhem make their wines date back to the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
The present generation turned to organic farming almost at once and was certified in 2001. Biodynamics followed, with Demeter certification in 2005 — the same year Guilhem and his partner Marie joined the team.
Like France's other leading vignerons, Guilhem and his father Jean-Hugues understand that great wine is born of great viticulture. Enormous care goes into keeping every parcel immaculate and its surroundings as natural as they can be, and the fruit is then vinified with the same attention.
The domaine has long been the benchmark here. Saint-Bris has known hard times: after phylloxera in the late nineteenth century it was excluded from the Chablis appellation.
It had once been part of Chablis, a few kilometres to the east, sharing the same north-facing slopes and the same singular geology, rich in Kimmeridgian limestone.
It has since benefited from changes to the rules of the Côte d'Auxerre, the neighbouring appellation that has made its name for delicious white Burgundy: alongside Chardonnay grown outside Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc and Aligoté are permitted here too.
Goisot's holdings today make up a small village that feels like Chavignol and Chablis rolled into one.
The wines are beautifully made, the ratio of price to quality is remarkable, and they command an enormous following in France.
They have depth throughout, the power of their terroir is palpable, and they express the transparency of that chalky bedrock more clearly than almost any Chablis.
Honest, with wonderfully pure fruit and real potential for age, these are wines that go straight to the heart of the matter.
