WB Weekly Burgundy Appellation Series Week 20: CHABLIS

Hello and welcome to Week 20 of our Wine Berserkers Weekly Burgundy Appellation Tasting Series!! This week, we are in new territory in focusing on the wines and region of Chablis. As mentioned before, I will be in the region this week to learn and discover more about what makes Chablis special. We can start here with the classification:

Grand Cru: (100 ha) 54 hl/ha limit. Minimum Potential Alcohol is 11%

Les Clos 26.96 ha (considered for hundreds of years to stand as the pinnacle of Chablis). This was the first vineyard planted by the monks from St.-Martin de Tours.

Bougros 15.86 ha
Les Preuses 11.81 ha
Vaudésir 16.23 ha
Grenouilles 9.38 ha
Valmur 12.89 ha
Blanchot(s) 13.14 ha

La Moutonne 2.35 ha (honorable mention recognized by the BIVB, but not the INAO as being an official Grand Cru) This is a monopole of Domaine Long-Depaquit


Premier Cru (750 hectares total) 58 hl/ha limit. Minimum Potential Alcohol is 10.5%

Mont de Milieu
Montée de Tonnerre
Fourchaume
Vaillons
Montmains
Côte de Léchet
Beauroy
Vauligneau
Vaudevey
Vaucoupin
Vosgros
Les Fourneaux
Côte de Vaubarousse
Berdiot
Chaume de Talvat
Côte de Jouan
Les Beauregards

While there are but 17 names of Premier Crus in Chablis, these actually are made up from 41 different premier cru vineyards.

Chablis (generic Chablis) (4.400 ha) 60 hl/ha limit. Must be from grapes located within the 19 accepted communes. Minimum Potential Alcohol is 10%

Petite Chablis (1.550 ha) 60 hl/ha limit Minimum Potential Alcohol is 9.5%

While there are other types of grapes grown in Chablis such as Aligote, Cesar, Gamay, Melon de Bourgogne, Pinot noir, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris (known locally as Pinot Beurot), Sauvignon blanc, Sacy (aka Tressalier) (at one time was planted in a ratio at parity with chardonnay) and Tressot, everything other than chardonnay (locally known as “Beaunois”) is forced to be classified as “Bourgogne”. Of note, it is the slopes which were classified as Grand Cru, not the individual climats, such as in La Côte d’Or.

Geology:
The soil in Chablis is quite special, being located in the “Kimmeridgian Chain”. This type of soil is typically referred to as a “chalky marl”. There is a great abundance of sea bed fossils here, especially oyster shells mixed into the limestone dominated mix with clay. Of note, there is also a large composition of what is known as Portlandian, which is Calcaise de Barrois along the ridges encircling Chablis, atop the amphitheater and village of Chablis. Kimmeridgian is focused where there are both Grand Cru and Premier Cru, with Calcaire de Tonnere resting in the basin which the village and surrounding area rests on.

Photo Credits: WIKI file

YAY, Chablis!!!

Calling Frank Murray…calling Frank Murray…

Excellent, Chablis!

I have a bunch of perhaps naive newbie questions:

–How much does Chablis need aging? I have drunk mostly young Chablis and have not seen the level of difference between village and top grand crus that I would expect to see in e.g. Burgundy reds…you can tell there is a concentration difference but the subtlety is not there on the young grand crus. Does this change with age?

–Has Fevre taken a qualitative leap recently? I thought they were clearly in a second rung compared to e.g. R&V Dauvissat and especially Raveneau, but Burghound reviews over the past couple of years have made it seem like Fevre grand crus are absolutely in the first rank.

–Just from reading, it seems like there’s a pretty sharp ranking of Chablis Grand Crus, with Les Clos head and shoulders above the rest and some of the lower level ones not so different from good premier crus. Is this true, or am I misinterpreting it?

–How good is 2008? I had first thought of it as one of a set of recent good Chablis vintages, including 2000, 2004, 2007, and 2008. But the raves on Cellartracker have me wondering if it isn’t perhaps a rung above.

Thanks!

• 2005 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (6/8/2011)
  Drinking very nicely now. Through the glass this was a light yellow-gold color. The nose was rather closed on first pour, but opened up willingly with some swirling as the wine warmed. Stone and green apple aromas introduced a textured and mineral-driven palate, balanced by slightly more richness on the midpalate than I recall from the last time I had this. A fine, lingering finish. As this got close to room temperature (we didn’t keep the bottle chilled), the acids felt a bit too aggressive, affecting the wine’s balance. There is definitely a tight range between drinking this too cold and allowing it to get too warm, but if you can manage that properly, this is excellent. (92 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Thanks Ray; We had an interesting experience with Chablis this past week and it could actually be a cross thread post. Last week at dinner at Drago Centro, I opened a bottle of 2004 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru “Bougros.” …Absolutely gorgeous, a pale yellow showing lemon, shells and a beautiful mineral backbone. In addition, it had put on weight since I last opened one so it was showing a nice touch of viscosity. Fast forward to last night…We were having dinner for the first time at Church & State prior to the Dodger game. I opened another bottle from the same case. Uh oh …a slightly dark yellow and definitely pre-moxed. Not yet undrinkable but certainly a far cry from the beautiful bottle enjoyed one week earlier. Very disappointing to say the least.

Cheers!
Marshall

Ray, where does L’Homme Mort fit into the picture? I will be opening a Gueguen L’Homme Mort this evening.

Marcus–many folks enjoy chablis young for that steely, mineral thing, but it usually really blossoms after 7-8 years, so if you can brave it for that period of time, wonderful things can happen. Many of the better wines in a classic vintage will shut down somewhat, and you’ll wonder what all of the excitement is about. Chablis was thought to be relatively protected from premox, but unfortunately there has been a fair amount, so it has caused a dilemma for many–do you wait? Fevre has been a poster child for premox, unfortunately, because early on, their wines have been very promising. but 02, and now 04, at least for me have had a fair incidence of this problem–unfortunately particularly with les clos. Personally, I’ve only bought Fevre recently that i plan to consume young.

Les clos is mostly head and shoulders above the other grand crus, but Preuses, particularly Dauvissat’s version can rival or exceed it, and Valmur can be an impressive,classic serious chablis.

2008 is a wonderrful year both for earlier enjoyment and I think longer term, but 2007 is a very classic year that chablis purists might prefer. Hard to go wrong. I’m not a 2009 fan so far.

Question for the masses: Beyond Raveneau, Dauvissat, and Fevre, who are your favorite producers?

I’ve enjoyed Billaud-Simon and Brocard recently, but I’d love to hear some others.

I’m not sure I’d put Les Clos head and shoulders above. It’s often great, for sure, but I’d put Dauvissat’s Preuses, Fevre’s Bougros ‘Cote de Bougerots’, and Raveneau’s Valmur and Blanchots against just about any Les Clos out there. Of the Premier Crus, I’ve had excellent luck across the board with Montee de Tonerre wines, and I love Fevre’s Fourchaume ‘Vignoble de Valourents’

Louis Michel, Olivier Savary, Daniel Dampt and Christian Moreau off the top of my head.

Big fan of Christian Moreau

It’s in a corner of Fourchaume, where some guy supposedly hung himself from a tree a couple of hundred years ago.

I like Pinson; good QPR. And, I try to allow every bottle of Chablis, in fairness to its potential, age to at least 10 years from the vintage. Of all the wines I know, Chablis provides, IMO, the least rewards younger or young. And, as pointed out, temperature is very important. Not too cold, better to err on the warmer side. And, plenty of aeration…even at 15 years old, some of these wines show best the “next day” with plenty of aeration.

Personally, I’d take a Preuses from most people over a Les Clos…Vincent Dauvissat’s Preuses is, to my taste, the best wine Chablis has to offer…consistently, too. It’s a matter of style/taste, but Preuses has a bit of that Puligny finesse in the right hands.

FWIW

I like Gueguen and Brocard and wish I had more Dauvissat Preuses. I have enjoyed some Fevre Chablis over the years but don’t put them up there with Dauvissat.

Ryan…I am with you.

Within Fevre portfolio, I would put Bougros ‘Cote de Bougerots’ and Preuses at the same level with Les Clos.

In Quebec, Canada Fevre’s Les Clos is about 5% to 10% more expensive than Preuses and Bougros ‘Cote de Bougerots’ respectively, so quite often I buy more Bougros ‘Cote de Bougerots’.

It was a bottle of Chablis Les Clos with 10 years of bottle age that I drank in France 25 years ago that forever sealed the deal for me on Chablis. Flowers, fruit, steel, sea shells and minerality, all in perfect balance. Gave meaning to me of the words cut, acidity and clarity. A tad of funk on the nose didn’t hurt either. Been looking for that nose and flavor profile ever since in every bottle of Chablis that I try. Rarely find it, but close from time to time is good enough. Some added info: 1) Even though not highly rated by some, I really like the 04 vintage. 2) Of the Premier Crus, Clive Coates highly rates Montee de Tonnerre and Mont du Milieu, since they are the only ones on the same side of the river as the Grand Crus and get similar sunshine. 3) If you go to Clive Coates web-site, and click on Vintage Assessments, there are separate detailed tasting notes of both the 08 and 09 vintages for many Grand Cru Chablis, both the usual producers and some I was not familiar with. In the 09 vintage assessments, several of the Fevre Grand Crus received terrible ratings. I found this surprising, since usually well rated. Think I’ll crack open an 04 Fevre Le Preuses tonight. Maybe I’ve just been lucky, but never had a pre-moxed bottle of Chablis from my cellar

+1
I think his wines are great and basically in the same level as Raveneau, Dauvissat and Fevre, broadly speaking.
I would also say Le Clos is not necessarily the best vineyard. Valmur, Preuses are, at the same domaine, just as good e.g. at Christian Moreau.

For those not so familiar with chablis, I would reiterate the comments about air. Seemingly no matter what the age, the wines tend to be closed and a little reductive when first opened, then really blossom over the next hour plus. Particularly Dauvissat for me behaves this way–when first opened, gen the wine doesn’t show a lot, and often seems lighter and short on the palate. In an hour, the wine changes dramatically with much more depth and length on the palate, and that wonderful chablis nose of flowers, seashells, and a little honey.

I’m sure Coates is aware of the fact that Fourchaume -and several other vineyards which can be bottled as such- occupies the same stretch of land, albeit at the opposite -western- end of the Grand Cru amphittheatre. Furthermore, the Premox-rate of the admittedly few cases of Fèvre I used to own from 2000 and 2002 was virtually 100%.

I’ve had some good luck with Patrick Piuze, Gilbert Picq, and Louis Michel