Chablis Flashcards
What/where is Chablis?
Name of a town and an appellation that lies in the valley of the River Serein in the northern-most part of Burgundy
Where are the best vineyards planted in Chablis?
On slopes with south facing aspects.
what are the lesser vineyards classified as?
Petit Chablis
The biggest climatic problem?
Frost - sprinklers and heaters are widely used as protective measures
What are the best vineyards called?
Premier Cru and Grand Cru
What do the majority of wines taste like from Chablis
Made from Chardonnay
Dry, Med Body, Med Alcohol, Zesty high acidity with green apple and lemon fruit flavours
Oak or No Oak?
Usual for no oak or minimal oak flavour, though fermentation and ageing in oak for Premier/Grand Crus common
Price Range?
Mid Price to Premium, a few Super Premium
Explain the swings in popularity with Chablis from early 19th Century to mid 20th Century?
early 19th Century enjoyed a boom because of proximity to Paris
Challenges of Phylloxera and powdery mildew in 19C,
The building of the Paris-Lyons-Marseille railway in 19C - Chablis couldn’t compete with cheaper wines from S of France
Rural depopulation from WWI
Devastating frost of 1945 reduced Chablis to just 500ha
What is the climate of Chablis?
Continental with cold winters and warm summers
Threats to Chablis?
Frost and Hail (impacts yields),
moist climate (threat of fungal disease)
How are frosts managed?
Smudge Pots - smoky, causes air pollution, needs staff
Sprinklers (aspersion) - most popular option, but installation and maintenance means only higher well-funded companies can afford
Pruning choices - later pruning promote later bud-burst/ reduces damage of new buds
What trellising system is used?
Rootstock used?
Mostly Double Guyot (if one cane fails, the other may survive)
41B (vinifera x berlandieri) = tolerant of limestone soils with high pH
420A (riparia x berlandieri) popular for low vigour and high tolerance of high pH soil
Hand or machine harvest?
Much is machine harvested, but G Cru and P Cru vineyards are picked by hand.
Location / Soil Types of Chablis Appellations - Petit Chablis / Chablis
Petit Chablis = higher/cooler vineyards with Portlandian soils (hard limestone with less clay)
Chablis - large area of Kimmeridgian soil and mixed aspects
Both these are on flatter land or gentle slopes, north-facing.
Max yield: 60 hL/ha
Location / Soil Types of Chablis Appellations - Premier Cru:
How many named vineyards?
Slope facing?
Larger P Cru Vineyards = ?
Max Yield?
Chablis Premier Cru - 40 named vineyards
on south south/east facing slopes of Kimmeridgian soil
Larger P Cru vineyards have specified named plots (lieu-dits)
Wines can be labelled under their specific site or under the large climat they fall
Max yield: 58 hL/ha
Location / Soil Types of Chablis Appellations - Grand Cru:
How many Grand Cru?
How many named vineyards (Climat?)
Name 2 Climats
Where is Chablis Grand Cru?
Facing?
Soil?
Effect of aspect/soil on wine = greater weight and concentration than PCru
Yield?
Grand Cru represents what % of Production?
Next to village itself with a single grand cru with 7-named vineyards (incl Les Clos and Vaudesir - aka climats)
Immediately next to village
South West facing on the right bank of River Serein on Kimmeridgean soil - Mixture of crumbly marl with good drainage and high clay content for water retention = higher quality.
Max Yield 54 hL/ha
1% of production is G Cru
What is a climat?
A named vineyard fixed in AOC legislation
What is a lieu-dit
A named piece of land in the centralised land register
Describe a Chablis Grand Cru wine
South facing slops promote ripening and wines have greater concentration and weight of other chablis - represents just 1% of Chablis’ total production.
What does planting mid-slope mean for the vineyard/wines?
slope = better drained and protected from frost
southerly facing = better light interception = riper fruit
Grand Cru vineyards benefit from shelter from winds from the north = greater concentration, body and ability to age.
Key winemaking in Chablis
Option for chaptalisation up to legal limit
Fermentation in S/S
Storage in S/S or concrete
MLF common to soften acidity
Time on lees to enhance texture
New Oak is rare, but sometimes used - focus on fresh tasting, high apple/lemon more common.
Winemaking differences between Chablis and P Cru/G Cru
P Cru/G Cru Fermented and aged in barrels
Examples of different types of Oak Ageing:
Controversial?
Old Oak = Dauvissat or Reveneau
S/S or Concrete = Jean-Marc Brocard
New Oak = William Fèvre
Some think Chablis should not smell or taste of oak (vs New World)
