Domaine des Hates, Petit Chablis 2018

In the vineyard, winemaker Pierrick Laroche abondoned the use of herbicides and reduced the application of fungicides. In the cellar he uses natural yeasts for the fermentation of his wines. Transferring the wines from vessel to vessel is done by gravity.

Pierrick Laroche grew up in Maligny, the northernmost village of the Chablis appellation. His father farmed 200 hectares of cereals in the surrounding hills, and always maintained a few hectares of vines the production of which he sold to the local cooperative, La Chablisienne (an entity which represents around a quarter of Chablis production).

From 1985, his father applied for rights to increase his plantations by about one and a half hectares, which he subsequently did every year thereafter.

In 2006, Pierrick obtained his wine diploma in Beaune, did an internship at Villa Maria in New Zealand and returned home to start his life as a farmer.

In 2008, Pierrick decided to use indigenous yeasts to preserve the natural character of the wines. He also abandoned his father's practice of using herbicides and reduced fungicide applications. He began to plow his rows of vines and worked on the design of a simple gravity-operated wine cellar.

Pierrick made his first commercial vintage in 2010 - only 2,300 bottles - but they have earned numerous awards since.

Englishwoman Rosemary George bumped into him in 2012 at the annual Chablis post-harvest fair. She wrote: “Pierrick Laroche … took his family's vines out of the cooperative and made his first vintage in 2010. And it's very good, with a firm and fresh minerality”.

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