Maison Gautheron d'Anost Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2024
We have 2 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
The Hautes Côtes de Beaune is the high country behind the famous slope: 29 villages spread through valleys cut into the limestone plateau west of and above the Côte de Beaune, running from 290 to 485 meters, which is 100 to 200 meters above Meursault or Volnay. Soils are Triassic sandstone and clay over Jurassic marl and limestone, and the appellation was created on 4 August 1961. For most of its existence that altitude was a liability and the grapes struggled to ripen. It is not a liability now. Laurent Delaunay has said the future of Burgundy may lie in the Hautes-Côtes, and the BIVB is running a program called Horizon Hautes-Côtes to map planting up to 450 meters specifically in anticipation of a warmer climate. Gautheron's fruit is two thirds bought from La Rochepot, above Saint-Aubin, and one third his own from Savigny-lès-Beaune.
The Wine
100% Chardonnay, 12.5%. Whites here are raised partly in 350-liter barrels rather than the standard 228-liter pièce, which keeps the oak well behind the fruit, on ambient yeast and with a short élevage. Sulfur is a small addition at the start of fermentation and then nothing until bottling. Honeysuckle, wax and honey over nectarine and apricot, a saline finish, and the altitude showing up as freshness rather than austerity. 2024 was a hard growing year everywhere in Burgundy, and the Hautes-Côtes caught the April frost along with Chablis and the southern Côte de Beaune, then 38 days of rain across May and June and sustained mildew pressure. August turned it around with more than 300 hours of sunshine. Chardonnay came through the vintage substantially better than Pinot Noir, and the whites are the reason 2024 is worth buying at all.
The People
Bastien Gautheron founded Maison Gautheron d'Anost in 2020, first generation, nothing inherited. Anost is a village in the Morvan, the wooded uplands west of the Côte d'Or, where his mother's family comes from. He started oenology at 15, trained at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune, and worked at Olivier Leflaive in Puligny-Montrachet until 2019. Roughly a fifth of what he makes comes off his own vines in Savigny-lès-Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, certified organic since 2017; the rest is bought fruit from growers farming organically or effectively so, not all of it certified. Small 15-hectoliter tanks, ambient yeast, gentle extraction on the reds, low new oak, short élevage. He made about 12,000 bottles across 40 barrels in 2024 out of a converted warehouse in Dijon's Arsenal district, and he picks his appellations specifically to avoid the ones everyone else is chasing.
Food Pairing
This is the Chardonnay for the meals that do not warrant a Meursault. Salmon cured with dill and cucumber, cod in a beurre blanc, sushi if you are ordering in, or a leek and gruyère quiche. Young chalky chèvre works too. Serve at 11 degrees. Buying the Hautes-Côtes is a bet that the high ground behind the Côte d'Or matters a little more every year, and at this price it is barely a gamble.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Burgundy, in eastern France, encompasses several subregions, but it is the Côte d'Or that is home to many of the world's most expensive and revered wines. The region, primarily a single east-facing slope, has mixed limestone soils that vary dramatically from village to village and even vineyard to vineyard. White wines, crafted from Chardonnay, range from rich and opulent to lean and intensely mineral, while Pinot Noir produces silky, perfumed red wines of exceptional finesse and complexity. Centuries of winemaking tradition have resulted in every plot being meticulously recognized and scrutinized, making the Côte d'Or a true capital of terroir.
Burgundy - Cote d'Or
Chardonnay, one of the world's most versatile and beloved white grape varieties, showcases a remarkable spectrum of styles, from the lean, mineral-driven expressions of Chablis in France to the rich, buttery, and oak-aged versions from California's Napa Valley. Its adaptability extends to cooler climates such as Burgundy, where it achieves elegance and complexity, and to regions like Australia's Yarra Valley, known for producing vibrant and fruit-forward renditions. This grape's ability to reflect its terroir, coupled with winemaking techniques, results in a wide array of profiles, including unoaked, crisp varieties with apple and citrus notes, to full-bodied wines with tropical fruit flavors and creamy textures.
