“Timeless” is how most visitors describe Chablis’ picturesque landscape. Located 158km southeast of Paris, Chablis has been supplying the French capital with ‘vin local’ for centuries. In the 1800s, this part of northern-central France had over 40,000 hectares of vines. Chablis’ waterways hummed with wine barges travelling up the River Seine to the City of Light. The region’s quaint villages and undulating topography have scarcely changed at all since that time.

Yet the area under vine decreased significantly in the early 20th century, though it has been steadily growing over the last 20 years to keep up with rising global demand. New investors have brought fresh ideas, techniques and philosophies. Indeed, there is nothing static and intransigent about Chablis in 2021.

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The local recipe

By law, Chardonnay is the only grape variety permitted under the appellation framework, cultivated on cold limestone terroir that flanks the River Serein. Today, all wines carrying the Chablis title must be 100% Chardonnay dry whites, produced from vineyards in a geographically delimited area surrounding the town of Chablis itself and other outlying villages. There are approximately 5,771 hectares under vine, with over 370 wine estates now in the Chablis business.

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Chablis has long been considered part of the wider Burgundy region. Nevertheless, its vineyards are actually equidistant between Champagne, Sancerre in the Loire Valley, and Burgundy’s Côte d’Or. The heartland of the region is a southwest-facing slope north of the town. Here you’ll find many of the best vineyards planted on crumbly limestone, grey or white in colour. This is known as Kimmeridgian, named after the small Dorset village of Kimmeridge. Further north and to the east the soil is lighter and contains a lower percentage of clay and fossils, known as Portlandian. There have been countless arguments in Chablis as to whether the wines from Portlandian are equal in quality to those from Kimmeridgian soil. Each grower has their personal take on this issue; critics often state that both soil types can make outstanding wines.

The real key to understanding Chablis, though, is climate. The region’s wines are often compared to the best of Burgundy, Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet in particular. Yet Chablis’ more northerly latitude and cooler climate are not conducive to the ripeness, weight and texture encountered further south. Chardonnay responds to the region’s cold soils and gentle summers with flavours that cannot be found elsewhere. It is a dry white wine defined by vibrant acidity, with distinctive aromas of minerals, oyster shells and citrus. Chablis represents the Chardonnay grape at its most thrilling and potentially long-lived.

Of course, winemaking also plays its part. Unlike their counterparts in the Côte d’Or, growers in Chablis have traditionally eschewed maturing their wines in new French oak, preferring to emphasise the bracing freshness of cool-climate Chardonnay in its purest form. Chablis is all about ‘unspoiled’ fruit characteristics—a complex and age-worthy wine that can also deliver pleasure at a young age. Today, the majority of producers ferment their wines in stainless steel tanks with inbuilt cooling mechanisms, although some growers will use old oak vats for their top cuvées. Occasionally, a Chablis house will release a limited production label that has been matured in new French barrique for over 12 months. Connoisseurs are usually drawn to Chablis’ mineral edge, rather than the sweet flavours of new oak. Chablis should always be steely and bone dry.

Classified by terroir

For decades, the Chablis region’s vineyards have been stratified into four tiers: Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Chablis and Petit Chablis. The sole criteria for classification was terroir, comparing and contrasting the relative merits of one vineyard plot against another. It is one of the most transparent and reliable consumer wine guides in Europe; Grand Cru wines always have more depth and complexity than Premier Crus, while Petit Chablis never rises above the level of ‘easy drinking’.

Grand Cru

At the top of the classification stands seven Grand Cru vineyards. All would agree that Grand Cru Chablis is among the finest Chardonnay being made today. Of the zone’s 5771 hectares of vines, just over 100 are allowed to produce Grand Cru Chablis. They form a continuous slope of undulating vines, facing southwest and directly overlooking the town itself.

Each Grand Cru vineyard has been given a name. There is a long tradition in France of assigning names to individual vineyards or ‘climats’ and Chablis is no exception. The region’s growers love to explain the stylistic differences between them; it is generally agreed that Le Clos is the best vineyard, producing the most powerful and long-lived wines. However, there is plenty of competition. Valmur and Vaudesir are also highly regarded, the latter celebrated for their richness of flavour. Locals claim Preuses and Grenouilles tend to produce more floral and delicate wines, while Bougros and Blanchots are praised for their depth and refinement. Nonetheless, opinions on this subject vary wildly.

Premier Cru

Next in line are the Premier Crus. There are over 750 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards in Chablis—more than any other appellation in Burgundy. Some of the most renowned vineyards include Fourchaume, Montee de Tonnerre and Mont de Milieu. They are found adjacent to the Grand Crus, on the right bank of the River Serein. The wines of Beauroy, Vau de Vey, Côte de Lechet and Montmains are similarly excellent, produced from vineyards situated on the left bank, facing southeast.

Premier Cru Chablis offers incredible value today. There are many excellent wines available for under £35, yet the quality is comparable to the top crus of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet. They may be stylistically different, but they compete as equals in terms of quality.

Village and Petit Chablis

There are numerous bargains waiting to be discovered in the vineyards of ‘generic’ Chablis and Petit Chablis. The Chablis AOC appellation was created in 1938, encompassing a swathe of vineyards on the right and left banks of the Serein. They are delimited as Petit Chablis, the lowest ranking of the Chablis appellation, which tends to fluctuate greatly. New vineyards have been planted while others have either been upgraded to Chablis status or declassified entirely. Chablis and Petit Chablis are typically crisp, well-made white wines with good acidity and freshness. However, they seldom boast the richness, depth or refinement of the region’s top tiers.

The classification isn’t simply clever marketing; one can taste the difference between the Grand Crus, Premier Crus and younger vineyards belonging to the Petit Chablis designation. Like any region, Chablis is not above producing indifferent wine. Yet when talented winemakers and superior terroir join forces, amazing things happen. At its best, Chablis is a unique and beguiling wine. The aromas combine steeliness with richness: river pebbles, minerals, gunflint and lemon. With age, notes of buttered toast, lanolin, hazelnut and dough should emerge. Above all, Chablis should never be too ripe or aggressively oaked. It is a wine built on finesse and structure, showcasing all that is subtle and delicate. Chablis’ essential charm and character would arguably be overwhelmed by the supplementary aromas which result from maturation in new oak.

Disagreement, consensus and value

Equally, there are winemakers who fiercely defend maturing in oak. Joseph Drouhin and William Fevre argue that a certain degree of barrel fermentation and maturation adds richness and complexity to their wines, while others feel it damages the unique character of the region. The subject of closures has also led to some heated discussions over the past 15 years. Laroche, a very reputable producer of fine Chablis, caused a stir in 2002 when the firm became the first estate to use screwcaps for their Grand Cru wines. Laroche came under fire at the time for claiming that screwcaps were a superior closure to corks, an idea which some makers vehemently opposed. Meanwhile, debates rage about the continued expansion of the Chablis zone.

But there is at least one subject that arouses widespread agreement: premium-grade Chablis offers unbeatable value. Due to a steady supply and lack of avarice on the part of the region’s growers, Grand Cru Chablis is roughly half the price of Corton-Charlemagne. Modern consumers are understandably wary of wine producers touting a bargain. After all, it’s such an easy (and often disingenuous) sales pitch. However, in the case of Chablis, it happens to be absolutely true.

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