DOMAINE COURTAULT MICHELET

domaine courtault-michelet was founded by stéphanie courtault and her husband vincent michelet. the project is part of the courtault family estate, founded by vincent’s father, courtault. jean claude (jc) arrived in lignorelles in 1974 to work as a vineyard manager for one of the village's wine estates. in 1984, he purchased 1.5 hectares of 4-year-old vines in the chablis area. next, he rented a piece of land in the chablis appellation area, which he then planted with the help of his wife, marie-chantal. and so, the estate of jean-claude courtault was formed. his first vintage was 1987, and the wine was rewarded with a gold medal at the ""concours général des vins de paris"" competition. the 1994 edition of the guide hachette awarded the 1992 courtault chablis a favorite by distinction, boosting business for the winery. jc grew his plantings, and in 1995, with the estate boasting a dozen hectares of chablis and petit chablis, jean-claude courtault decided to devote himself to wine-growing on a full-time basis. he built a wine storehouse that included all the features necessary for optimal operating efficiency. the estate has continued to develop its vineyards and now boasts a total of 27 hectares. the vineyards are dispersed over 6 different parishes in the chablis area, with the majority located in lignorelles and beines. a few plots are in maligny, chablis, fye and villy. their oldest plots have 35-year-old vines. the estate's vines are planted in accordance with the tradition of the lignorelles area: every 5 rows, with sufficient space left for a tractor to pass. planting density is 6000 - 7000 vines per hectare on average. the courtault and michelet families produce 4,100 cases of chardonnay.