Nicolas Gaudry

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When Marc Deschamps, Rosenthal's source of rock-solid Pouilly-Fumé since 1982, announced his retirement a few years ago with no heir apparent, our immediate future in the appellation looked uncertain. In the end, however, we could not have imagined a smoother transition than that which took place upon the sale of the domaine’s 8.5 hectares to Nicolas Gaudry, a 6th generation vigneron and longtime friend of Marc’s.

Like Marc, Nicolas possesses a bred-in-bone understanding of Pouilly-Fumé’s distinctive terroirs, having produced cuvées from many of the same parcels as Marc for his entire career; folding Marc’s acreage into his own operations, then, required virtually no changes to his modus operandi.

Nicolas takes a no-nonsense approach to vinification and aging, seeking to spotlight the chiseled mineral character of Sauvignon Blanc grown in these soils. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel without designer yeasts. Malolactic fermentation does not occur, thereby allowing the wines to retain their linearity and cut; aging takes place on the fine lees. The wines are gently bottled the summer following harvest. With his larger swath of holdings—30 hectares now that Marc’s vineyards have been absorbed—Nicolas’ cellar is larger and easier to navigate than Marc’s Tetris-requiring tank room, but the mentality is the same.

Nicolas is a careful and meticulous grower, and his domaine is certified Haute Valeur Environnementale—a designation that ensures not only responsible work in the vineyards, but ecologically informed management of water and resources at every level of operations. While his wines are very much cut from the same chiseled, mineral-fronted, focused cloth as Marc’s were, they possess perhaps a smidgen more finesse and clarity. Marc’s classic Pouilly-Fumé trio of Les Porcheronnes, Vignes du Berge, and Champs de Cri will be preserved seamlessly through Nicolas’ efforts. In honor of Marc’s lifetime of work, Gaudry has retained the historic Deschamps label design for the US market—the only change being the name of the domaine.