HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Chablis () is by the northernmost
Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
of the
Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
region in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Its cool climate produces wines with more
acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...
and less fruitiness than
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
vines grown in warmer ones. These often have a "flinty" note, sometimes described as "''goût de pierre à fusil''" ("tasting of gunflint"), and sometimes as "steely". The Chablis AOC is required to use Chardonnay grapes solely. The grapevines around the town of Chablis make a dry white wine. In comparison with the white wines from the rest of Burgundy, Chablis wine has typically much less influence of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
. The amount of barrel maturation, if any, is a stylistic choice that varies widely among Chablis producers. Many Grand Cru and
Premier Cru Cru is a wine Glossary of wine terms, term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French language, French word which was originally used to refer to both a region and anything grown in it, but is now mostly used t ...
wines receive some maturation in oak barrels, but typically the time in barrel and the proportion of new barrels is much smaller than for white wines of Côte de Beaune.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pp. 148–149 Oxford University Press 2006 . Wines not vinified in barrel will instead be vinified in
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
.


Location

Chablis lies about east of
Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...
in the
Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...
department, situated roughly halfway between the Côte d'Or and
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Of France's wine-growing areas, only
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
, Lorraine,
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
and parts of Grand Auxerrois have a more northerly location. Chablis is closer to the southern
Aube Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),
district of Champagne than the rest of Burgundy. The region encompasses across 25 communes located along the Serein river. The soil is Kimmeridge Clay with outcrops of the same
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
layer that extends from Sancerre up to the
White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depo ...
, giving a name to the paleontologists'
Cretaceous period The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ninth and longest geologi ...
. The Grands Crus, the best vineyards in the area, all lie on a single, small slope, facing southwest and located just north of the town of Chablis.A. Domine (ed) ''Wine'' pp. 186–187 Ullmann Publishing 2008 .


History

During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, particularly
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monks, became a major influence in establishing the economic and commercial interest of viticulture for the region.
Pontigny Abbey Pontigny Abbey (), the church of which in recent decades has also been the cathedral of the Mission de France, otherwise the Territorial Prelature of Pontigny (), was a Cistercian monastery located in Pontigny on the River Serein, in the present ...
was founded in 1114, and the monks planted vines along the Serein. Anséric de Montréal gave a vineyard at Chablis to the Abbey in 1186. In 1245 the chronicler Salimbene di Adam described a Chablis wine.
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
is believed to have first been planted in Chablis by the Cistercians of Pontigny Abbey in the 12th century, and from there spread south to the rest of the Burgundy region.H. Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' p. 130 Simon and Schuster 1989 . The Chablis area became part of the
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
in the 15th century.E. McCarthy & M. Ewing-Mulligan ''French Wine for Dummies'' pp. 90–93 Wiley Publishing 2001 . There are records in the mid-15th century of Chablis wine being shipped to
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
and
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
. But in February 1568 the town was besieged by the
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
, who burned part of it. The
Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...
river, easily accessible via the nearby
Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...
river, gave the Chablis wine producers a near monopoly on the lucrative Parisian market. In the 17th century, the English discovered the wine and began importing large volumes. By the 19th century there were nearly of vines planted in Chablis with vineyards stretching from the town of Chablis to Joigny and
Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...
along the Yonne. Some
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
producers used Chablis as a basis for a sparkling ''
cuvée ''Cuvée''Or Cuvee on some English-language labels. () is a French wine term that derives from ''cuve'', meaning vat or tank.J. Robinson (ed), ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'', Third Edition, p. 218, Oxford University Press 2006, winepros.com. ...
''. With the French Revolution, the monastic vineyards became '' biens nationaux'', and were auctioned off. The new owners were mostly local, and the political upheaval saw small farmers involved as part-time '' vignerons''. The English market continued to prosper. The 19th-century Russian novel '' Anna Karenina'' by
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
mentions "classic Chablis" as a commonplace choice of wine. The end of the 19th century was a difficult time for the Chablis growers. Firstly, with new railway systems linking all parts of the country with Paris, there was inexpensive wine from regions in the
Midi Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...
that undercut Chablis. The vineyards were affected by oidium from 1886, and then
phylloxera Grape phylloxera is an insect pest of grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. Grape phylloxera (''Daktulosphaira vitifoliae'' (Fitch 1855) belongs to the family Phylloxeridae, within the order Hemiptera, bugs); orig ...
from 1887. Effective replacement of vinestocks to counter phylloxera took some 15 years. Many Chablis producers gave up winemaking, the acreage in the region steadily declining throughout much of the early 20th century. By the 1950s there were only of vines planted in Chablis. The 20th century did bring about a renewed commitment to quality production and ushered in technological advances that would allow viticulture to be more profitable and reliable in this cool northern climate. In 1938, the ''
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...
'' created the ''
Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
'' (AOC) region for Chablis that mandated the
grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, Zante currant, currant, sultana (grape), sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimp ...
(Chardonnay) and acceptable winemaking and viticultural practices within delineated boundaries. One of the objectives of the AOC establishment was to protect the name "Chablis", which by this time was already being inappropriately used to refer to just about any white wine made from any number of white grape varieties all across the world. In the early 1960s, technological advances in vineyard frost protection minimized some of the risk and financial cost associated with variable vintages and climate of Chablis. The worldwide "Chardonnay-boom" of the mid-late 20th century opened up prosperous worldwide markets to Chablis and vineyard plantings saw a period of steady increase. By 2004, vineyard plantings in Chablis reached a little over .


Climate and geography

Located in northeast France, the Chablis region is considered the northernmost extension of the Burgundy wine region but it is separated from the Côte d'Or by the
Morvan The Morvan (; historically Morvand from the Latin ''Murvinnum'' 590)Pierre-Henri Billy, ''Dictionnaire des noms de lieux de la France'', éditions Errance, 640 pages, 2011 , is a mountainous massif lying just to the west of the Côte d'Or esc ...
hills, with the main Burgundian winemaking town of
Beaune Beaune (; in Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major ...
located more than away. This makes the region of Chablis relatively isolated from other winemaking regions with the southern vineyards of the
Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
in the
Aube Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),
department being the closest winemaking neighbor. The Chablis wine region has much in common with Champagne province when it comes to climate.T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pp. 140–144 Dorling Kindersley 2005 . It has a semi-
continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...
without maritime influence. The peak summer growing season can be hot; and wintertime can be long, cold and harsh, with
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
y conditions lasting to early May. Years that experience too much rain and low temperature tend to produce wines excessively high in acidity and fruit that is too lean to support it. Vintages that are exceedingly warm tend to produce fat, flabby wines that are too low in acidity. Frost can be countered by heaters, and aspersion by sprinklers to form an ice layer. The exceptionally poor 1972 Chablis suffered frost at vintage time. The region of Chablis lies on the eastern edge of the
Paris Basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...
. The region's oldest soil dates back to the Upper Jurassic age, over 180 million years ago and includes a vineyard soil type that is
calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...
, and known as Kimmeridge Clay. All of the Chablis Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards are planted on this primarily Kimmeridgean soil, which imparts a distinctively mineral, flinty note to the wines. Other areas, particularly most of the Petit Chablis vineyards, are planted on slightly younger Portlandian soil, still of similar structure. The chalk landscape resembles some areas of Champagne and Sancerre.K. MacNeil ''The Wine Bible'' pp. 201–202 Workman Publishing 2001 .


Viticulture

A serious viticultural concern for Chablis vineyard owners is frost protection. During the bud break period of a grapevine's annual cycle, the Chablis region is vulnerable to springtime frost, from March to early May, which can compromise the crop yield. Formerly, the financial risk involved saw many producers turn to
polyculture In agriculture, polyculture is the practice of growing more than one crop species together in the same place at the same time, in contrast to monoculture, which had become the dominant approach in developed countries by 1950. Traditional example ...
agriculture, pulling up vineyards to plant alternative crops. The 1957 vintage was hit particularly hard by frost damage: the regional authorities reported that only 11 cases (132 bottles) of wine were produced.M. Frank '
The Quiet Men of Chablis
"'' Wine Spectator, September 20, 2008.
In the 1960s, technological advances in frost protection introduced preventive measures, such as smudge pots and aspersion irrigation to the region. Smudge pots work by providing direct heat to the vines while aspersion involves spraying the vines with water as soon as temperatures hit and maintaining persistent coverage. The water freezes on the vine, shielding it with a protective layer of ice that functions igloo-style, retaining heat within the vine. While cost is a factor in using smudge pots, there is a risk with the aspersion method if the constant sprinkling of water is interrupted causing worse damage to the vine. There is no such protection against
hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...
, which in 2016 caused serious difficulties for some Chablis vignerons. At
harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
time, AOC regulations stipulate grapes for Grand Cru vineyard must be picked with a potential alcohol level of at least 11 percent, at least 10.5 percent for Premiers Crus and 9.5 percent for AOC Chablis vineyards. Yields in Grands Crus must be limited to 45 hectoliters per hectare (3.3 tons per acre) with a 20% allowance for increased yields. There is no official regulation on the use of mechanical harvesting, but most Grand Cru producers prefer hand picking because human pickers tend to be more delicate with the grapes and can distinguish better between ripe and unripe bunches. Over the rest of the Chablis region, mechanical harvesting was used by around 80% of the vineyards at the turn of the 21st century. The traditional style of vine training in Chablis is to have the vine trained low to the ground for warmth with four cordons stretching out sideways from the trunk.


Winemaking

The 20th century saw many advances in winemaking technology and practices—particularly the introduction of temperature-controlled
fermentation Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are catabolized and reduce ...
and controlled inducing of malolactic fermentation. One winemaking issue that is still contested in the region is the use of
oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
. Historically Chablis was aged in old wooden '' feuillette'' barrels that were essentially neutral: they did not impart the characteristic oak flavors (vanilla, cinnamon, toast, coconut, etc.) that are today associated with ageing a wine in barrels. Hygiene was difficult to control with these older barrels, and they could develop faults in the wine, including discoloration. These old barrels fell out of favor, replaced by stainless steel fermentation tanks which also controlled temperatures. The use of oak became controversial in the Chablis when some winemakers in the late 20th century went back to wooden barrels in winemaking, using oak barrels. So-called "traditionalist" winemakers dismissed the usage of oak as counter to the "Chablis style" or ''
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
'', while "modernist" winemakers embrace its use though not to the extent of a "
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
" Chardonnay. The amount of char in oak barrels used in Chablis is often low, which limits the "toastiness" that is perceived in the wine. Rarely will a producer use oak for both fermentation and maturation. Grand Cru and
Premier Cru Cru is a wine Glossary of wine terms, term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French language, French word which was originally used to refer to both a region and anything grown in it, but is now mostly used t ...
wines are most likely to see oak: proponents believe that they have necessary structure and enough
extract An extract (essence) is a substance made by extracting a part of a raw material, often by using a solvent such as ethanol, oil or water. Extracts may be sold as tinctures or absolutes or dried and powdered. The aromatic principles of ma ...
to avoid being overwhelmed by oak influence. While there are style differences among producers, rarely is basic AOC Chablis or Petit Chablis oaked. While chaptalization was widely practiced for most of the 20th century, there has been a
trend A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors th ...
of riper vintages in recent years, producing grapes with higher sugar levels that have diminished the need to chaptalize.


Appellation and classification

The main Chablis
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...
was designated on January 13, 1938, but the junior appellation of Petit Chablis was not designated until January 5, 1944. All the vineyards in Chablis are covered by four appellations with different levels of
classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...
, reflecting all-important differences in soil and slope in this northerly region. At the top of the classification are the seven Grand Cru vineyards, which are all located on a single hillside near the town of Chablis. Second in quality are the Premier Cru vineyards, which numbered 40 at the turn of the 21st century, covering an area of . Next is the generic AOC Chablis which, at , is the largest appellation by far in the region and the one exhibits the most variability between producers and vintages. At the lowest end of the classification is "Petit Chablis" which includes the outlying land. As of 2004, of a permitted in the Petit Chablis appellation were planted. Soil and slope plays a major role in delineating the quality differences. Many of the Premier Crus, and all the Grand Crus vineyards, are planted along the valley of the Serein river as it flows into the Yonne. The Grand Crus and some of the most highly rated Premiers Crus (Mont de Milieu, Montée de Tonnerre, Fourchaume) are located on southwest facing slopes; these receive the maximum amount of sun exposure. The rest of the Premiers Crus are on southeast facing slopes.


Chablis Grands Crus

There are seven officially delineated Grand Cru ''climats'', covering an area of , all located on one southwest facing hill overlooking the town of Chablis at elevations between . One vineyard there, La Moutonne, between the Grand Cru vineyards of Les Preuses and Vaudésir, is often considered an "unofficial" Grand Cru. The '' Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne'' (BIVB) does recognize La Moutonne, but the seven Grand Cru vineyards officially recognized by the INAO are (from northwest to southeast): Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudésir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchot (also known as Les Blanchots). Together, the Grand Cru vineyards account for around 3% of Chablis annual yearly production.H. Johnson & J. Robinson ''The World Atlas of Wine'' p. 76. Mitchell Beazley Publishing 2005 . While the producer can have a marked influence, each of the Grand Cru vineyards is noted for its particular ''terroir'' characteristic. Tom Stevenson notes that Blanchot produces the most delicate wine with floral aromas; Bougros is the least expressive but still has vibrant fruit flavors; Les Clos tends to produce the most complex wines with pronounced minerality; Grenouilles produces very aromatic wines with racy, elegance; the Les Preuses vineyard receives the most sun among the Grand Crus and tends to produce the most full bodied wines; Valmur is noted for its smooth texture and aromatic bouquet; Vaudésir tends to produce wines with intense flavors and spicy notes. Of all the Grand Cru vineyards, Les Clos is the largest in the area at . Hugh Johnson describes the wines from this Grand Cru as having the best ageing potential among Chablis and developing Sauternes-like aromas after some bottle age. The Union des Grands Crus de Chablis (UGCC) was launched in March 2000 as a syndicate restricted to Grand Cru proprietors, with mission "to defend and promote the quality of Chablis Grand Cru wines". Members are bound to abide by a charter that covers wine making and sales. Grand Cru makers must submit their wines to a tasting committee of other Union members to ensure they meet the required quality. These tastings are conducted blind.Austen Biss, ''A Guide to the Wines of Chablis'', Global Markets Media 2009, .


Premiers Crus

At the turn of the 21st century, there were 40
Premier Cru Cru is a wine Glossary of wine terms, term used to indicate a high-quality vineyard or group of vineyards. It is a French language, French word which was originally used to refer to both a region and anything grown in it, but is now mostly used t ...
vineyards. The names of many of these vineyards do not appear on wine labels. The INAO permits the use of "umbrella names": smaller, lesser known vineyards are allowed to use the name of a nearby more famous Premier Cru vineyard. Some of the "umbrella" vineyards are Mont de Milieu, Montée de Tonnerre, Fourchaume, Vaillons, Montmains, Beauroy, Vaudevey, Vaucoupin, Vosgros, Les Fourneaux, Côte de Jouan and Les Beauregards. In general, Premier Cru wines have at least half a degree less
alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of Alcohol (drug), alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest ...
and tend to have less aromatics and intensity in flavors.


Grapes and wine

All Chablis is made 100% from the
Chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...
grape. Some wine experts, such as
Jancis Robinson Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, ComMA, MW (born 22 April 1950) is a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer. She currently writes a weekly column for the ''Financial Times'', and writes for her website JancisRobinson.com, updated daily. She ...
, believe that the wine from Chablis is one of the "purest" expressions of the varietal character of Chardonnay, because of the simple style of winemaking favored in this region. Chablis winemakers want to emphasize the ''
terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
'' of the calcareous soil and cooler climate that help maintain high
acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...
. Chablis wines are characterized by their greenish-yellow color and clarity. The racy, green apple-like acidity is a trademark of the wines and can be noticeable in the bouquet. The acidity can mellow with age and Chablis are some of the longest living examples of Chardonnay.J. Robinson ''Vines, Grapes & Wines'' pp. 106–113 Mitchell Beazley 1986 . The wines often have a "flinty" note, sometimes described as "''goût de pierre à fusil''" (gunflint) and sometimes as "steely". Some examples of Chablis can have an earthy "wet stone" flavor that intensifies as it ages, before mellowing into delicate
honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...
ed notes.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Course'' Third Edition pp. 101–106 Abbeville Press 2003 . Like most white Burgundies, Chablis can benefit from some bottle age. While producers' styles and vintage can play an influential role, Grand Cru Chablis can generally age for well over 15 years while many Premiers Crus will age well for at least 10 years. Secondary grape varieties grown locally are permitted in the generic Bourgogne AOC wine. These include
Aligoté Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines, especially in the Burgundy region of France where it was first recorded in the 18th century.winepros.com.au. Since it is tolerant to cold, this variety is also cultivated in Eastern Eur ...
, César,
Gamay Gamay () is a purple-colored grape variety used to make red wines, most notably grown in Beaujolais and in the Loire_Valley_(wine), Loire Valley around Tours. Its full name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc. It is a very old cultivar, mentioned as lon ...
, Melon de Bourgogne,
Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris (known locally as Pinot Beurot), Sauvignon blanc, Sacy, and Tressot.


Modern wine industry

For most of the 20th century, Chablis wine was produced more for the export than the domestic French market, which tended to favor the Côte d'Or Chardonnays. '' Négociants'' are not as influential in the Chablis wine industry as in other areas of Burgundy. Trends towards estate bottling and
co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
s have shifted the economics towards the individual growers and producer. The La Chablisienne co-operative makes nearly a third of all wine produced in Chablis today. In recent years, Chablis producers have fought hard to protect the Chablis designation, using legal means to make foreign countries respect it. Despite a long association with Chardonnay, the wines of Chablis can be overshadowed by the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
expression of the varietal, and by other Burgundian Chardonnays such as Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne and Meursault. The wide
semi-generic ''Semi-generic'' is a legal term used in by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to refer to a specific type of wine designation. The majority of these were originally based on the names of well-known European wine-producin ...
use of the word "Chablis" outside of France is still seen in describing almost any
white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...
, regardless of where it was made and from what grapes.


See also

* List of Burgundy Grand Crus * List of Chablis crus


References


External links


Wines of Chablis official siteChablis Office of TourismMap of Chablis
showing the Grand Crus in red, Premier Crus in orange, standard Chablis in yellow and Petit Chablis in pale ochre. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chablis Wine regions of France Burgundy (historical region) AOCs