On a visit to Chablis, France, the name Michel Laroche suggested a producer whose work had long been connected with the region’s growth. Since his first harvest in 1963, Laroche had combined winemaking with a broad view of the business, helping shape a company that reached well beyond the narrow valley of the Serein.
His latest chapter was more intimate. After years spent developing a substantial négociant operation and family estate, Laroche returned to the role of vigneron: cultivating grapes and making wine from vineyards with a direct connection to his family.
A wider view, then a return home
During the expansion of Chablis vineyards in the 1970s and 1980s, Laroche oversaw a growing business that bought grapes or juice as well as fruit from the family estate. He also developed projects beyond Burgundy, including Mas la Chevalière in the Languedoc, where he could explore red wine, and l’Avenir in South Africa. A Chilean venture and early advocacy of screw caps reflected the same willingness to look outward.
In Chablis, he and his wife Gwénaël also created a hotel and wine bar. In 2010, the wider business was sold to Advini. Laroche remained for a short transition period as a marketing consultant before moving fully toward his own vineyard project.
That project was called Le Domaine d’Henri, after his father. Its label evoked the family’s connection to harvest and shared meals, while the work itself brought Laroche back to the vineyards. His daughters Céline and Margaux joined the enterprise, giving the estate a distinctly familial character.
A bottle-led view of the vineyard tradition behind a Chablis estate.
Vineyards with a clear sense of place
The estate began with 14 hectares of vineyards associated with Laroche’s father, followed by additional parcels. Most lie on the right bank of the Serein, including plots in Fourchaume, and a new cellar provided a home for the wines near the town.
The vineyards were managed organically, while the estate kept flexibility in its approach to disease pressure and difficult seasons. Thibaud Baudin, whose experience included work in Burgundy, New Zealand and the wider Laroche operation, served as winemaker.
What changed most for Laroche was the closeness of the work. The smaller estate allowed him to spend time among the vines and remain closely involved in the wines from harvest through cellar work. The shift was not simply a change of scale; it was a return to the source of the craft.
Fourchaume in three expressions
The range included a straightforward Chablis from vineyards above Maligny and three Premier Cru wines from Fourchaume. The first was a blend of several plots, with a modest portion fermented and aged in wood before being combined with the vat-aged wine.
The Vieilles Vignes cuvée came from older plantings and carried a firmer, more linear profile. The Cuvée Heritage drew on vines planted in the 1930s and used a higher proportion of oak, bringing additional structure and depth. Production was deliberately small, especially for the Heritage bottling.
Across the range, the emphasis was on the mineral tension and precision associated with Chablis, while differences in vine age, parcel and élevage gave each wine its own shape.
The future in the vineyard
Laroche’s view of Chablis had changed with the appellation itself. Where earlier generations had often been focused on producing enough from their vines, the region’s growing confidence rested on quality and a stronger understanding of its potential.
For Laroche, becoming a vigneron again offered a practical way to participate in that future: closer to the soil, closer to the fruit and attentive to the details that turn a place into a wine.
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