Gauthier Frères is first and foremost a partnership of two brothers, two artisans, Guillaume and Fabien. One is an oak staves manufacturer, the other a cooper!
Gauthier Frères is first and foremost a partnership of two brothers, two artisans, Guillaume and Fabien. One is an oak staves manufacturer, the other a cooper!
The name, known by the insiders of the wine world, enjoys an exceptional reputation and a great recognition among coopers the world over for the extremely high quality of its rough staves.
The Gauthier brothers come from a family tradition of exacting standards of quality and excellence.
Their story begins with their grandfather Louis, the first “oak splitter” of the family.
Their parents, Bernard and Martine created the stave mill, pursuing with the same passion and rigor.
The know-how and expertise was passed through the generations to Guillaume.
Today, he personally selects the finest oaks exclusively from high quality forests managed by the National Office of Forests (this process ensures a perfect traceability).
He personally and individually chooses the trees one by one, with meticulous care in the most prestigious state owned forests in Central France (Saint Palais, Allogny, Tronçais, Blois, Châteauroux, Senonches, Fontainebleau, Bercé).
Guillaume knows these forests by heart. He wandered through them during his childhood and knows exactly where he can find the wood that will meet his requirements.
He prefers working with oak that is neither too young nor too old. The trees are in their prime between 150 and 200 years old.
He sees their quality. He recognizes their density, vivacity and freshness.
The quality of the Gauthier rough staves is the result of years of experience in selecting the best oak timber.
The manufacturing process has remained traditional and is passed on from generation to generation.
The rough staves are crafted according to the nature and structure of the wood: they are split by hand, precisely respecting the fiber, to ensure a perfect watertightness.
Then comes the ripening. During a period of 18 to 30 months, the rough staves will mature in a natural environment, in the middle of the meadows and forests of Méry-es-Bois.
The changing conditions of sunshine, rain, and even snow, are favourable to very good wood development.
Fabien is aware that the quality of the rough staves his brother provides constitutes a real family heritage, just as a winemaker knows that the importance of quality grapes is essential to make great wine!
Fabien is an artisan who handcrafts the barrels himself. He trained at several prestigious cooperages following the Burgundy tradition.
He prepares the staves with the same care as his peers before him, without forcing the nature of the wood and with complete respect for the material.
The Gauthiers supply some of the most famous estates of the Côte d’Or, the Côte de Nuits, and the Loire Valley.
Fabien has been able to shape his identity thanks to his remarkable partnerships.
Through his relationships with these exceptional winemakers, he has forged his toasting style with “Belle Flamme” (beautiful flame).
Filled with the same family sensibility, he feels the evolution of his barrels while they are being toasted, without the use of a clock.
The bousinage, with its long but fairly gentle heat, aims to produce elegant barrels, providing texture and length.
The perfect balance between fruit and wood is for the Gauthier brothers the consecration of their know-how as “merrandier-tonnelier”.
As they worked alongside Fabien, Master coopers Alexandre and Tom learned the art of making barrels from A to Z, including the intricate art of toasting.
This long period of observation, careful listening and hands-on training, which every new cooper experiences, guarantees the consistency in style and quality of each Gauthier barrels.
Fabien remains attached to his artisan size and accepts its contraints.
The Gauthier workshop crafts 228 liters Burgundy barrels. Other volumes (225L, 300L, 400L, 500L) can be produced upon reservation.
They offer exclusively 3 toasting intensities: Medium Less, Medium, Medium Plus.
Tonnellerie Gauthier Frères makes a strictly limited number of barrels each year, in order to ensure that each barrel is crafted according to Fabien's highest standard.
GAUTHIER FRERES
Stave mill
18380 MÉRY-ES-BOIS
FRANCE
merranderie@gauthierfreres.fr
GAUTHIER FRERES
Cooperage
18510 MENETOU-SALON
FRANCE
tonnellerie@gauthierfreres.fr
