Chablis is vibrant, minimalist, austere and most certainly prestigious. Most people know it as a refreshing white wine, the perfect match for fish and shellfish and just as satisfying on its own.
It’s the ultimate summer wine, though people drink it year round. But of all the Chablis lovers out there (you may be one of them), how many know where it comes from, or why it has four quality-based appellations?
For starters, Chablis is made across about 5,900 hectares (roughly 14,500 acres) of vineyards around the small town of Chablis in northern Burgundy, south-east of Paris. Winemaking here goes back to Roman times, and monks were making wine from 865 AD. Only Champagne, its neighbour, lies further north among France’s wine regions.
All Chablis, like all Champagne, is based on the Chardonnay grape. Yet Chablis seldom comes across as a blatant Chardonnay. Most Chardonnays show fruit flavours like pineapple or other tropical fruits. Chablis tastes more like autumn apples or citrus. It is nuanced, restrained and elegant, and it is the purest expression of Chardonnay.
Southwestern slopes
There are four degrees of quality: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. Forty vineyards have premier cru status and seven have grand cru status. The grand cru vineyards sit on southwest-facing slopes, so they get more direct sunlight than the others.
That matters in a region this far north, where the climate is on the edge of what grapes can tolerate. Winters are hard, and spring frosts, hail and the occasional autumn storm are routine. Growing grapes here is not an easy life.
The area is climatically fragile, and the risk of spring frost is constant. Growers spend days and nights in the fields watching the vines. Some warm the vineyards at night with oil-burning stoves, and others spray the vines with water to protect them.
That fragility means bigger variations from year to year than in other Chardonnays, and smaller harvests, which adds to the exclusivity. Some winemakers ferment and age in oak, some use only stainless steel tanks, and some combine the two.
Jurassic effect
The other key factor is the soil, a blend of limestone, chalk and clay that gives the wine its mineral taste and aroma. The limestone is mostly Kimmeridgian, from the Jurassic era. It was a seabed around 150 million years ago, covered with oyster shells, and the fossilised remains still shape the soil today.
You can taste the minerals in the wine. Some people call it steely or flinty. You either love it for its freshness and delicate citrus or green apple notes, or you find it too dry. It’s usually one or the other.
Chablis tends to cost more than other white wines, partly because of those climate challenges, but it’s still cheaper than Champagne. In recent years Chablis has taken over some of the ground Champagne once held.
What to serve with it
Chablis is as popular as ever, partly because of its versatility. It goes with seafood, and also with most poultry, veal and pork. The chalkiness cuts through cream and butter, and it’s perfect with raw oysters or spicy crab cakes.
Serve it between 8 and 12 degrees Celsius. Chilled too much, it tastes overly acidic. Don’t put it on ice!
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