Chablis

Mid-way between Beaune and Paris, the Chablis winegrowing region stretches over around 20 communes. Nestled among the valleys and wooded hilltops, the vineyards cover the hillsides running alongside the pretty Serein Valley. The vines sink their roots deep into the clay-limestone soil, drawing on them for their characteristic mineral aromas, to the delight of Chablis drinkers.

Here, Chardonnay reigns supreme. It is used for all Chablis wines and has made them famous around the world. The most highly prized among them is the wines classified Chablis Grand Cru, with its green-gold color and perfect balance between liveliness, dryness and acidity.

There are 3 other classifications.

Chablis Premier Cru wines. This appellation encompasses a wide range of aromas from the most mineral to the most floral.

Chablis wines are very dry, and stand out with their freshness and sophistication.

Petit Chablis are wines rich in aromas of white blossom and citrus and are light and full of life.

A Drinker’s Retro…perspective

Back in the early naughties, we were hoovering Chablis from the early 1970’s. When the Tsunami hit, wheelbarrows of Grand & 1er Cru’s were arriving from the auction houses at around $14 a bottle. By the time it receded, after everyone else had caught on, they were up at around $40 a bottle and still a bargain. Purity, complexity, amazing texture, lovely lines of acid were the hallmarks of these incredible wines. Testut et Fréres Grenouille featured! Such a great vineyard.

It’s wines like these that both inspire and excite!

While we were drinking Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines back then, today with dedicated work in the vineyard and winery we are seeing exceptional Chablis and Petit Chablis wines being produced.

Area Planted

The total area under production is 3,367 Ha

Grand Cru

Area in production (2018): 100 ha.

Chablis with seven officially delineated Grand Cru climats, covering an area of 247 acres (100 hectares), all located on one southwest facing hill overlooking the town of Chablis. There is one vineyard, La Moutonne, located on this hill between the Grand Cru vineyards of Les Preuses and Vaudésir that is considered an “unofficial” Grand Cru and it will appear on wine labels. However, the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine (INAO) does not recognize La Moutonne as a Grand Cru.

The seven Grand Cru are Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur, Vaudésir.

Premier Cru

Area under production (2018): 783 ha.

At the turn of the 21st century, there were 40 Premier cru vineyards in Chablis. In 2009, the official list was expanded to 89 vineyards. The names of many of these vineyards do not appear on wine labels because of an INAO allowance that permits the use of “umbrella names” – where smaller, lesser known vineyards are allowed to use the name of a nearby more famous Premier cru vineyard. Seventeen of the most well known “umbrella” vineyards are bolded below.

Chablis + Petit Chablis make up the balance of the area.

Most Common Varieties

White wines only – Chardonnay (locally known as « Beaunois »).

I suspect we will see increasing experimentation with Pinot as the climate warms.

Viticulture

Viticulture in Chablis follows similar lines to that in burgundy with close planted vines low to the ground. As in so many parts of the world we are seeing more and more growers shift to sustainable biological viticutlure with many switching to organics and biodynamics.

The region is prone to frost risk and it’s not uncommon to see smudge pots burning across the vineyards during the growing season.

Winemaking

Like every wine region of the world Chablis has been exposed to advances in modern winemaking technology, shifts in stylistic interpretations, and, preferences, and of course the impact of climate change.

The most significant areas of change have been in temperature-controlled fermentation, use of malolactic fermentation, use of oak, and, reduction in chaptalisation due to warmer riper vintages.

As you’d expect, those makers looking after their vineyards, achieving flavour ripeness early, able to pick early enough to retain natural acidity and judiciously apply use of oak are making exhilarating wines.

The devil in the detail with key elements including fruit handling to achieve the right levels of phenolic extraction, exposure to oxygen as juice, fermenting wine, and post-fermentation, use of wild yeast, lees contact, lees stirring, tank vs old vs new oak ratios, and time maturing pre-bottling.

Whilst depth, length, balance, complexity, freshness, and, development all play their part, it’s the texture of the great Chablis’ that sets them apart!

Check out the article ‘Getting Your Head Around Burgundy Part 10 – Chablis’. It covers Chablis in more detail, including videos explore the geology, geography and climate + a video 🎥 session with Bernard Raveneau!