Bourgogne Tonnerre 2025 Domaine Dominique Gruhier

The Bourgogne Tonnerre 2025 from Domaine Dominique Gruhier is one of the most precious and overlooked Burgundy Chardonnays, from a discreet appellation of just 38 hectares that few paid attention to twenty years ago, yet today experiences remarkable qualitative renewal. Fine, juicy, lively, saline and chalky, as American importer Becky Wasserman enthusiastically describes it, this Bourgogne Tonnerre represents one of white Burgundy's great values, too long overshadowed by its Chablis neighbours.

Terroir and vineyard

The Bourgogne Tonnerre appellation groups six villages in the Yonne: Épineuil, Dannemoine, Junay, Molosmes, Tonnerre and Vézinnes. Officially created in 2006, it produces exclusively white Chardonnay on terroirs that are 100 per cent Kimmeridgian, those clay-calcarious soils rich in marine fossils dating back 150 million years that form the absolute geological identity of the entire Yonne vineyard, from Chablis to Tonnerre. This precise geological composition is key to this Bourgogne Tonnerre's particular character: the iodine minerality, saline tension and citrus freshness that immediately distinguish it from the rounder, buttier Chardonnays of Côte de Beaune are directly inherited from these Kimmeridgian limestones. Domaine Dominique Gruhier, based at the Abbaye du Petit Quincy in Épineuil, has been certified organic since the early 2000s, with winemaking free of additives designed to preserve fruit purity and terroir expression in every bottle. The Bourgogne Tonnerre is aged 40 per cent in oak barrels for 9 months, of which 25 per cent are new, the rest in stainless steel, for well-integrated oak that adds roundness without masking natural limestone minerality.

Tasting profile

The colour is brilliant pale yellow with green highlights, clear and luminous. The nose shows immediate freshness and precision in the chiselled, mineral style characteristic of Tonnerrois on Kimmeridgian limestone: white-fleshed fruit notes, apple and pear, delicate white flowers and iodine, chalky minerality open naturally and spontaneously. A light touch of fresh butter and hazelnut from partial oak ageing enriches this bouquet with welcome complexity and roundness. On the palate, the texture is refined and balanced, with natural acidity that is lively and well-integrated, bringing energy and liveliness to light, precise matter. Saline and chalky minerality travels across the palate with elegance and persistence. The finish is clean, citrus-driven and persistent, with freshness and purity that confirm this terroir's calling to produce great dry whites in line with the finest expressions of Chablis.

The domaine

Dominique Gruhier grew up in Tonnerre and settled at the Abbaye du Petit Quincy, just one kilometre away. Since 1999, he has committed to organic production and additive-free winemaking. His domaine of over 32 hectares offers 14 different cuvées, from Petit Chablis to red Épineuil in Pinot Noir, sold in more than 30 countries worldwide.

Food pairing

This Bourgogne Tonnerre pairs beautifully with fine de claire oysters, steamed scallops, citrus sea bass tartare, sole meunière, white asparagus with mousseline sauce, wild mushroom risotto or fresh goat cheese. Served between 10 and 12°C, it reveals all the mineral tension, iodine freshness and chalky precision of a Kimmeridgian Chardonnay from one of Burgundy's most discreet and promising appellations.