Officially called Bourgogne and established as an AOC wine region in 1935. Burgundy has a higher number of appellations d’origine contrôlée (AOCs) than any other French region, and is often seen as the most terroir-conscious of French wine regions.

Continuing our exploration of the Burgundy wine regions we’re heading far north to the Chablis region. From Auxerre (awx-air) to Dijon at the beginning of the Cote d’Or is 150 km (93 miles) southeast, so it’s one of three non-continuous parts of Burgundy. It’s also about 90 km southwest to Sancerre in the Loire and 170 km northwest to Paris. So it’s really out there.

Burgundy: Key subregions

• Chablis also Auxerrois and Chatillonnais
• Cote D’or – comprised of Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune
• Cote Chalonnaise
• Maconnais
• Beaujolais

Key elements of Burgundy

• Principal grapes are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Aligote.
• Wine quality: Burgundy, Village, Premier Cru, Grand Cru
• Each vineyard has multiple owners. Each owner may have multiple vineyard parcels
• A domaine is similar to a Bordeaux chateau, but encompasses many parcels
• For example; Gevrey-Chambertin has 8 vineyards within it. One of these Charmes-Chambertin was the location of my very first wine: Paul Bouchard Charmes-Chambertin

Serving Burgundy

• Use a big glass for red & white; wines are very aromatic
• Good Burgundy evolves dramatically in the glass, do not top off, drink to last sip before replenishing and never fill beyond half
• Red Burgundy doesn’t need decanting and needs little time to open up
• Light tannins, very little or no sediment
• Delicate and sensitive to oxygen, do not leave open for hours before drinking, like a big Cab
• Leftover wine will not keep as long as big tannic wines, but Grand Cru wines age very well
• If not familiar with the term, leftover wine is wine you foolishly left in the bottle

All Things Chablis

Rodney Dangerfield is not the only person not getting any respect. The uniqueness of Chablis makes them harder to appreciate when one’s wine knowledge includes a lot of California Chardonnay. This was particularly true of California jug wines labeled as Chablis which were nothing like French Chablis. In fact, they used grapes other than Chardonnay, most often French Colombard as the base and Chenin Blanc in a blend. There is still a ton of Chablis jug wines sold, and they might even use Chardonnay now, but they are light years away from true Chablis.

The fruit around Auxerre has great minerality and subtle almost austere fruit. In fact note how close the two words are; Auxerre and austere. This very cool wine region produces wines with crisp minerality, meaning the grapes have higher acidity from a shorter growing season that permits the soil minerality to come through in the wine.

These wines often have a “flinty” note, sometimes described as “goût de pierre à fusil” (tasting of gunflint), or sometimes as steely. Yes that does not endear some wine drinkers who were not expecting austerity, but a fat and slightly sweet wine. Chablis is almost always un-oaked, which lets the fruit, minerality and crispness shine through. The alcohol level is also lower due to the shorter growing season.

Unlike the full-bodied wines of the Cote de Beaune which use oak, only Grand Cru Chablis is made with oak; all the others are unoaked and fermented in stainless steel tanks. And no, the steeliness does not come from the tanks.

• Chablis has about 13,497 acres all planted to Chardonnay
• The town of Chablis lies 10 miles east of Auxerre along the Serein River.
• The soil is Kimmeridge clay with outcroppings of chalk that extends through Sancerre and on to the White Cliffs of Dover. This was once an ancient sea bed of oyster shells.
• Cistercian monks planted the first Chardonnay in the 12^th century and from there down to the rest of Burgundy.
• The Seine River through the L’Vonne River tributary gave Chablis a lucrative market to Paris and England until railroads undercut that market and phylloxera wiped out the vines that were slow to replant. Only 1250 acres in 1950.
• The seven Grand Crus are all located on a single hillside just outside Chablis; each with unique characteristics separate from each other. There are 40 Premier Crus.
• Jancis Robinson, believes Chablis to have one of the “purest” expressions of the varietal character of Chardonnay, because of the simple style of winemaking favored in this region.

Chablis Appellations:

The four appellations of Chablis also defined the four quality levels and different geographical areas, although one can find well-made wines within each appellation.

• Petit Chablis AOP: these are scattered throughout Chablis (19%)
• Chablis AOP: this is the largest area within Chablis (66%)
• Premier Cru Chablis AOP (40 climats or named plots) (14%)
• Grand Crus Chablis AOP (7 climats): All located across from the city of Chablis (1%)

The serving temperature is 42–50 °F (5–10 °C), which is very cold so right out of the fridge these wines are ready to go. Eddy and I shared a bottle of Sainte Celine that was warmer, so the fruit was denser, the alcohol elevated and the minerality more in the background. In other words, off-balanced for what Chablis offers in the glass. Nonetheless it still held up suggesting it was a well-made wine.

Chablis Wines in New Mexico

There are a number of good wine shops in Albuquerque and Santa Fe; like Jubilations Wine & Spirits, Total Wine, Paradise Liquors, Quarters, and Trader Joes’. Many of my choices are from Total Wine because of their large selection and they are close to me. Almost too close since I can get into trouble once inside, but do support our local wine merchants.

What we are tasting: Sainte Celine Chablis, 12.5% ABV, $15 at Trader Joe’s

“This is excellent Chablis for the price. It has that great minerality and crunchy acidity that Chablis is known for. It smells like meadow flowers, lemon curd, and it has a silky mouthfeel that makes it the perfect accompaniment with oysters.” Lucia Palm.

I started going to TJs when I lived in the San Francisco Bay area. My friends and I used to hold TJ tailgate parties. We go into the store, pick up a number of interesting wines and snacks and try them by our cars. The go back inside to grab the wines we liked the most. The saying in the bay area Trader Joe’s was, “if you see something you like grab it, it might be gone tomorrow.”

Domaine Gabrielle Vivien Petit Chablis, 2022, 13% ABV, $27 at Total Wine

“A very nicely constructed Petit Chablis with concentration on the palate, generous, sun-ripened stone fruit and citrus acidity to finish. Plenty going on here and all very well done. Vivien Gabrielle runs this 10ha (24.7 acres) domaine based in Préhy.” 91 points Decanter-France

Laboure Gontard Chablis, 2021, 12.5% ABV, $30 at Total Wine

“This impressive white wine from Burgundy opens with racy notes of nectarine, pear and peach. It’s light bodied, but with a noticeable acidity and roundness that would accompany any charcuterie board.” 93 points Beverage Dynamics

Gabrielle Vivien Chablis Premier Cru Vaillons, 2020, 12.8% ABV, $53 at Total Wine

“A classy Vaillons (the premier cru climat) with aromas of wildflowers, orchard fruit and a fine thread of acidity to keep the palate fresh. Generous texture from ageing on lees, there is lovely purity of fruit here and potential for improvement over several years.” 92 points Decanter-France.

Along with the Gabrielle Vivien Chablis Premier Cru Montee de Tonnerre, also 92 points, these are two well-regarded premier cru climats.

Domaine Pascal Bouchard Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru, 13% ABV, $120 at Total Wine

Les Clos is the most famous Grand Cru vineyard in Chablis. Displaying a beautiful fragrance, filled with slate and apple, leading to a vibrant, yet rich, mouthful of mineral and citrus flavors. The long expressive finish makes this a great match for seafood.

If you want Grand Cru, you have to pay for Grand Cru as there is limited availability, but any of these choices will reaffirm the uniqueness of this class of Chardonnay. Salute!