Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet

These are exciting times for Amélie Berthaut. Work has begun on her new cuverie, which judging by the size of the new hole in the ground, will clearly be a very expansive winery. It’s just what she needs, mind, and the fact that she has been making such fabulous wines from the existing building is testament to her great talent. She also has two plentiful vintages in the cellar, which will be a welcome boon following the recent small vintages of ’19, ’20 and ’21. Oh,and her ‘22s are stunning.

Back in the day, Fixin was held in considerable regard; the best wines revered in the same way as some of the top wines from Gevrey. It has five 1er Crus: Hervelets, Arvelets, Clos du Chapitre, Clos de la Perrière and Aux Cheusots (known as the monopole, Clos Napoleon). But whilst many good producers have vines in Fixin, the village has never had a ‘poster boy’ on whom to hang its hat, in the same way as other villages. Until now that is, and it just so happens that that ‘poster boy’ is in fact a young woman, who is immensely proud of the Fixins within her portfolio.

She works really hard and, despite her ambition and ability, is very reflective about what she does and whether she has done it right. This humble, self-critical approach can only inspire her to make ever better wines, and as her star continues to rise, it will be very positive for the appellation that she loves to champion. Amélie took over Domaine Denis Berthaut from her father 10 years ago and then added vineyards from her mother’s side of the family, so that Domaine Berthaut-Gerbet was born and with 16 hectares to its name.

She works organically, although is not currently certified. She is open to using stems, but is not systematic about it, and consequently most wines sit somewhere in the 20 to 40% whole bunch bracket. It may be that the added space of the new cuverie will encourage her to use a little more, but having just been wowed by her 2022s I would suggest that she is not far from having the amounts just right.