Chablis

Question 1

What/where is Chablis?

Answer 1

Name of a town and an appellation that lies in the valley of the River Serein in the northern-most part of Burgundy

Question 2

Where are the best vineyards planted in Chablis?

Answer 2

On slopes with south facing aspects.

Question 3

what are the lesser vineyards classified as?

Answer 3

Petit Chablis

Question 4

The biggest climatic problem?

Answer 4

Frost - sprinklers and heaters are widely used as protective measures

Question 5

What are the best vineyards called?

Answer 5

Premier Cru and Grand Cru

Question 6

What do the majority of wines taste like from Chablis

Answer 6

Made from Chardonnay
Dry, Med Body, Med Alcohol, Zesty high acidity with green apple and lemon fruit flavours

Question 7

Oak or No Oak?

Answer 7

Usual for no oak or minimal oak flavour, though fermentation and ageing in oak for Premier/Grand Crus common

Question 8

Price Range?

Answer 8

Mid Price to Premium, a few Super Premium

Question 9

Explain the swings in popularity with Chablis from early 19th Century to mid 20th Century?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

What is the climate of Chablis?

Answer 10

Continental with cold winters and warm summers

Question 11

Threats to Chablis?

Answer 11

Frost and Hail (impacts yields),
moist climate (threat of fungal disease)

Question 12

How are frosts managed?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What trellising system is used?
Rootstock used?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Hand or machine harvest?

Answer 14

Much is machine harvested, but G Cru and P Cru vineyards are picked by hand.

Question 15

Location / Soil Types of Chablis Appellations - Petit Chablis / Chablis

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Location / Soil Types of Chablis Appellations - Premier Cru:
How many named vineyards?
Slope facing?
Larger P Cru Vineyards = ?
Max Yield?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

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?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What is a climat?

Answer 18

A named vineyard fixed in AOC legislation

Question 19

What is a lieu-dit

Answer 19

A named piece of land in the centralised land register

Question 20

Describe a Chablis Grand Cru wine

Answer 20

South facing slops promote ripening and wines have greater concentration and weight of other chablis - represents just 1% of Chablis’ total production.

Question 21

What does planting mid-slope mean for the vineyard/wines?

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Key winemaking in Chablis

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Winemaking differences between Chablis and P Cru/G Cru

Answer 23

P Cru/G Cru Fermented and aged in barrels

Question 24

Examples of different types of Oak Ageing:
Controversial?

Answer 24

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)