Chablis for Classic Chardonnay

Chardonnay – from the opulent wine of Montrachet to the over-oaked monsters that sparked the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) trend, this grape can do it all. No wonder so many winemakers work with it as it is so versatile and can be manipulated into a huge variety of styles.

However if you’re looking for classic Chardonnay, there is really only one place to go – Burgundy of course! Your first thoughts may be of sublime riches from the Côtes de Beaune or perhaps the poise of Pouilly Fuissé, but for me, Chablis embodies the timeless sophistication of the very best of Chardonnay.

The UK has had an ongoing love affair with the region of Chablis for over half a century. This was made all too clear to me when I moved back to London and was working as a sommelier and without a doubt, the most requested wine was Chablis.  Although, many of these diners would say ‘I don’t like Chardonnay, let’s have the Chablis’!  So ingrained is the term that it has become similar to a brand, allowing people to forget that Chablis is in fact a wine region that makes white wine from only the Chardonnay grape (as is true of Burgundy as a whole, barring a small amount of another white grape, Aligoté).

The Chardonnays from Chablis tend to be much less obviously oaky than their counterparts to the south in the Côte d’Or, and where oak is used (as it is often foregone entirely), it is done so with great subtlety and delicacy that it only emerges as part of the wine’s structure and body.

Thanks to the unique Kimmeridgian soil of Chablis, the wines have a wonderful minerality and it was this facet I found most interesting at a recent tasting of 13 ‘basic’ (therefore not Premier or Grand Cru) Chablis.

Each year the Burgundy wine board holds a blind tasting of wines from Chablis to which awards are given to the highest scorers. These particular 13 wines we tasted had been the finalists of the recent competition (they are listed below).

Whenever you have the chance to taste an array of wines from the same region, same vintage (2008) and same grape variety it’s a fabulous opportunity and certain similarities are expected and somewhat inevitable.  However, while going through these wines, I was most impressed by the intricate differences they had from one another. Some were bursting with bitingly crisp crunchy green apples, while others more complex, fresh and rounded, but the minerality was the most intriguing aspect throughout them all.

As Arnaud Valour of the Bureau Interprofessionnel de Vins de Bourgogne said, “there is not just one minerality, some have an earthy minerality, others a flintstone/stony style, others still a snail shell or crushed oyster shell minerality”.  I love that the soil can impart such diverse differences and that the skill of the winemaker is able to use this so adroitly and thereby adding another entire dimension to the wine – spectacular!

There is no doubt the wines of Chablis offer a window into the superlative possibilities achievable from Chardonnay and at a reasonable mid-priced level so they can be enjoyed ‘just because’.  Maybe ABC should really stand for Always Buy Chablis!

There’s always time for wine!

Tara – Wine Passionista

The 13 Chablis, all from 2008:

Roland Lavantureux, Lignorelles (Gold medal)

Domaine Vrignaud, Fontenay près Chablis (Silver medal)

Domaine Servin (Bronze medal)

Domaine Jolly et Fils, Maligny

Simonnet-Febvre

Domaine Vocoret et Fils, Fleur de Vigne

Domaine du Chardonnay

Les Temps Perdus, Préhy

Domaine de la Motte, Cuvée Vieilles Vignes, Beines

Domaine de la Tour, Lignorelles

Christine et Patrick Chalmeau, Chitry

Domaine de Chantemerle, La Chapelle Vaupelteigne

Domaine Pinson