Chablis
Cool continental
Burgundy's northernmost outpost, making steely, mineral Chardonnay on Kimmeridgian limestone marl.
Overview
About Chablis
Chablis lies well to the north-west of the Côte d'Or, near Auxerre in the Yonne. Its wine is made only from Chardonnay, and the style is defined by tension: high acidity, green apple and citrus, and a chalky, saline minerality, with oak used lightly if at all.
There are four levels — Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. The seven Grand Cru climats (Les Clos, Vaudésir, Valmur, Grenouilles, Bougros, Preuses and Blanchot) all sit on a single south-west-facing slope overlooking the town of Chablis, and produce its richest, longest-lived wines.
Chablis is marked on the map.
France
Shaded: Yonne. Map units are states, provinces or départements, so a smaller place appears as the larger area that contains it.
The land
Climate & terroir
Climate
Cool continental
The coolest part of Burgundy, with long cold winters and a real risk of spring frost, which growers combat with sprinklers and heaters. The cool climate is responsible for the lean, high-acid Chardonnay style.
Terroir & soils
What the vines grow in
Kimmeridgian limestone marl, laced with the fossilised remains of tiny oysters (Exogyra virgula) from a Jurassic sea. The same limestone-marl strata run under Sancerre in the Loire and parts of Champagne's Aube.
Go deeper
Rules, years & producers
Chablis ranks its vineyards in four tiers, all from Chardonnay, and the higher the tier the more specific the site.
Grand Cru
Seven named climats on a single south-west-facing slope above the town: Les Clos, Vaudésir, Valmur, Grenouilles, Bougros, Preuses and Blanchot.
Premier Cru
Some forty named vineyards on either side of the Serein river.
Chablis
The core appellation, the largest tier.
Petit Chablis
From higher, outlying vineyards; usually the lightest, for early drinking.
What's grown here
Grapes
Each grape's page links back here.