Chablis: Climats by Geography

Like many Medieval towns, Chablis is built upon a waterway, the Serein River, which provides the distinct characteristics based on the river's banks. Vines are planted on the hills overlooking both banks, with the right side receiving the evening sun and the left bank the morning sun. This means the right bank receives more exposure - providing a little more flavor to the Chardonnay grapes.  This was definitely true in past years but recently, with a warming climate, many vines on the left bank have been able to achieve full ripeness.  During a Climats by Geography Twitter tasting sponsored by The Chablis Commission, Christy Canterbury MW presented these facts as well as the history of four wines we sampled.

The Chablis region maintains an Appellation D'Origine Controllee (AOC) system with four classifications: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru. The first two are broader in nature; while the second two consist of specific climats - or micro-terroirs. Our wines were AOC Premier Cru which was created in 1938 and as of 2017 accounted for 14% of Chablis wines. There are 40 Chablis Climats that are Premier Cru with Climat defined as a delimited land parcel with special geological and climatic conditions.

Chablis is a cold grape-growing climate and as Canterbury describes "it is a very continental climate with brutal winters. April can be a stressful time for vignerons when they spend many nights warding away frost in the wines". Chablis is situated in northern Bourgogne, meaning that the region is located closer to Champagne than Côte de Nuits -- and one reason Chardonnay is the preferred grape. The cold climate also provides acidity which is a coveted characteristic of Chablis production.

The second shared character is that the soil is 150 million years old and the Kimmeridgian Limestone is loaded with fossilized oyster shells. This character noticeable amounts of minerals into the wine at times providing a wet stone sensation. And Canterbury noted that these "soils are so distinctive they were quarried to build St. Paul's Cathedral in London".

Right Bank Wines

Chablis Premier Cru Mont de Milieu Drouhin Vaudon 2014
This excellent wine is fresh and bright with a slight lemon character intertwined with wet stone and velvety texture. The grapes are grown on a historical 18th-century Drouhin Vaudon estate that consists of 38 hectares -- all under organic care.  The name Mont de Milieu (middle mountain) was derived from the hill's former position between the County of Champagne and the Duchy of Bourgogne as documents describe Mont De Milieu as far back as the 13th century. The part of the region that faces the town of Chablis is a bit sunnier while the portion that faces the hamlet of Fleys, in the valley to the east, is cooler. And interestingly Mont de Milieu does not have any sub-Climats or further divisions within its borders -- unlike most Chablis Climats.


La Chablisienne 1er Cru Fourchaume La Chablisienne 2016
The wine is characterized by more wet stone mixed with peaches, creamy velvety texture, and a  lingering finish.  Fourchaume is a region that stretches onto a different hillside, attached to the northern edge of the Grand Cru vineyards.  And a little history from Canterbury, the region was written Fourchaulme in 1540 and most likely comes from “fourche” or fork, referring to a fork in the road or the fork between Vaulorent and  Cote de Fontenay.  This La Chablisienne wine is vinified and aged in both fûts (barrels of 228 liters) & stainless steel for approximately one year. Canterbury noted that it has more “stuffing” to benefit from oak aging.


Left Bank Wines

Chablis Premier Cru Montmain Louis Michel & Fils 2016
This wine provides tropical and lychee characters, is saline driven and completes with velvety depth and controlled acids.  The Michel family has  grown and produced Chablis since 1850. Guillaume Gicqueau-Michel oversees his family estate and one of his signatures is using only stainless steel to vinify and age his wine. According to Canterbury this allows for only the "purest essence of his terroirs".  The family maintains two hectares in Montmains with two parcels in its center, near the Fôrets sub-appellation. Montmains is a large Chablis Climats that i sub-divided into two other two sub-Climats. Unlike Mont de Milieu, which has no shadows from the sun, Montmains vineyards do.

Domaine Denis Race Chablis Premier Cru, Vaillons 2015
This delicious wine has a citrus and peach base to the wet stone, solid acids and lingering tail. Domaine Denis Race is a 4th generation estate with the parcels between two and 65 years old. This wine has bigger fruit as the Vaillons is south-facing and known for its intense sunlight. Spelled Valion in 1429, this Chablis Climats overlooks a little valley or “vallon”. According to our host, this may have been corrupted to Vaillons by way of the old folk who used to call valleys “valsons”. 

Find Mineral and Acid Driven Chardonnay with #PureChablis

Many, many years ago, I remember relatives at family reunions quaffing wine from plastic cups. One source was a large bottle labeled Chablis, a generic American description for a light, perhaps off-dry white wine. In no way did it refer to the Burgundian wine region. And in no way did it resemble the mineral and acid driven Chardonnay the French Chablis region is known. Unfortunately it is still possible today to find mis-labelled American Chablis as the 2005 agreement with the EU, that was intended to end this practice, included a grandfather clause for producers who had been using the name. Why???


The Chablis to enjoy is in reality 100% Chardonnay from cold-climate northern Burgundy. The coldness traps acidity whereas the 150 million year old soil of Kimmeridgian Limestone - loaded with fossilized oyster shells - imparts noticeable amounts of minerals.  Obviously this isn't your new world chardonnay. The Chablis region also maintains a Appellation D'Origine Controllee system with four classifications: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru. The first two are broader in nature; while the second two consist of specific climats - or micro-terroirs.

During a #PureChablis tasting last week, Chef Ryan Hardy and Wine Director Arvid Rosengren of NYC's Carlie Bird restaurant lead a discuss of five Chablis wine and the appropriate food pairing for each. I will update this post with links to these pairings when they become available. In the meantime, here are the wines we tasted:

Petit Chablis, La Chablisienne, 2015 ($15) The Petit Chablis "village" appellation can be produced across all the communes in the Chablis region. Petit wines usually come from a slightly different type of soils, called Portlandian limestone.This wine starts with light apples and limes, then saline, and refreshing acids - a great value.

Chablis “Vauprin”, Roland Laventureux, 2014 ($26) - The appellation village of Chablis is produced in a specific list of communes. This "village" level wine is from a single vineyard and possesses tropical fruit and citrus, mint, chalky minerals, and fresh acids.  Very delicious. Food pairing: Razor Clams, Fennel, and Pickled Chiles

Chablis Premier Cru, Vaillons, Domaine Daniel Dampt, 2015 ($32) This wine is from the left bank of Chablis and in general, the Premier Crus add a layer of complexity and intensity. This wine has both plus stone fruit and melons, saline, and noticeable acids. Food pairing: Montauk Fluke, Espelette, Lime & Olio Nuovo

Chablis Premier Cru, Fourchaume, William Fèvre, 2014 ($45) This wine is from the right bank, right next to Grand Cru plots. Fourchaume is well known among Chablis lovers and for good reason. The wine is excellent: green apples and lemons, hefty dose of minerals, bombastic acids.

Chablis Grand Cru, Valmur, Jean-Claude Bessin, 2014 ($54) Chablis Grand Cru accounts for only 2% of Chablis production. As Rosengren noted, this wine is "both rounder and more muscular at the same time". It is fantastic: pineapple aroma, saline and minerals, rounder, chalky, and strong acids.

Learning about Chablis - the Wine and Region - with Pure Chablis

Last week Pure Chablis came to D.C. to showcase the region's wines and I was fortunate to be invited to a lunch at Proof.  The lunch was hosted by Jean-François Bordet, the current President of the Chablis Wine Board (in addition to winemaker at Domaine Séguinot-Bordet) and Françoise Roure of Burgundy Wines. It's easy to forget that Chablis is situated in Burgundy even though it lies closer to Champagne than Côte de Nuits. That means its a cold grape growing climate; we saw fascinating pictures of frost fighting techniques and snow covered vines. But the cold brings acidity which is a coveted characteristic of Chablis wine. Minerality is another characteristic. The soil is 150 million years old and the Kimmeridgian Limestone is loaded with fossilized oyster shells (see accompanying photo).

Kimmeridgian Limestone Rock

Like many Medieval town, Chablis is built upon a waterway, the Serein River, which provides two more characteristics to Chablis wine. First, vines are planted on the hills overlooking both banks, with the right side receiving the evening sun and the left bank the morning sun. This means the right bank receives more exposure - providing a little more flavor to the Chardonnay grapes. Second, Chablis wine is usually fermented and aged in steel; but when oak is used, it's neutral oak. This is partly because of the region's proximity to Paris - only two hours away by train.  Wine was transported by river to the capital city by barrel and then returned to be reused once more. Regions residing further away from Paris did not receive returns  and became to rely on new oak each year.

The Chablis region maintains a Appellation D'Origine Controllee system with four classifications: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru. The first two are broader in nature; while the second two consist of specific climats - or micro-terroirs. During our lunch at Proof, the wines were from the last three appellations and were selected for their relative availability in the U.S. market. (The U.S. market ranks 5th in Chablis consumption following the U.K., France, Belgium, and Germany.)

We started with the La Chablisienne Chablis La Pierrelée 2011 ($23). La Chablisienne is an old cooperative, started in 1923, and accounts for one quarter of the region's wine production (10 million bottles). This wine is a cuvée sourced from grapes grown throughout the region fermented in stainless steel and aged on lees in tank. The result is a light wine - not powerful - but displaying finesse with a lychee aroma, a green apple flavor and fresh acidity finish.

The next was Mr. Bordet's wine, the Domaine Séguinot-Bordet Chablis Premier Cru Fourchume 2010 ($35). The domaine is located on the right bank, far north corner of Chablis around the hamlet of Maligny. Jean-François is the 13th generation winemaker and this is the oldest continually operating winery in Chablis - that's 1590 for those counting. Now that's some history. Interestingly, he practiced winemaking in Michigan - learning about Riesling and Gewurtztraminer. When he returned home in 1998,  he became the youngest winemaker in Chablis accompanied by his grandfather who was the oldest. The Premier Cru Fourchume is at once elegant and intense with a fresh lychee aroma, an iodine earthy mid, and a long refreshing finish. This is one quality wine - very nice.

The Premier Crus kept coming with the Simonnet Febvre Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons 2010 ($30) and the Louis Moreau Chablis Premier Cru Les Fourneaux 2009 ($27).  The second seemed a bigger wine, more structure with vanilla notes, but both displayed the fresh acidic finish.  Two notes, the Simonnet Febvre is a left bank wine whereas the Louis Moreau is a right bank produced by a two hundred year old domaine. 

We finished the afternoon with a Grand Cru - the Domaine Servin Chablis Grand Cru Blanchots 2011 ($45).  There are only seven Grands Cru climats in Chablis and the Domaine Servin right bank vines face east-west - giving more morning sun exposure. The result is more fruit (this is also a rare unoaked Grand Cru),  less minerality, and even less acidity - as compared to the others.  Despite the un-Chablis style - this wine is impressive. Probably my second favorite behind the Séguinot-Bordet. Cheers to Chablis and a hearty thanks to Pure Chablis and Proof.