The Corkscrew | Understanding Chablis, home to some of Burgundy's best white wines
The cool climate and soils of Burgundy's northernmost reaches produce chardonnays that are flinty or steely in taste, but other grapes are grown too, and there's even some pinot noir, writes Nellie Ming Lee
Chablis is the northernmost part of Burgundy, in France, and almost all the wines made here are chardonnay. The cool climate makes the chardonnay dry with a crisp acidity that is known as " goût de pierre à fusil", defined as tasting flinty or steely. The soil here is a Kimmeridgian clay, a composition of limestone, clay and fossilised oyster shells that is also seen in parts of Champagne and in Dorset, across the English Channel.
The best of this area's wines come from around the town of Chablis. From a spot at the top of the town, facing southwest, one can see a panorama of the best grand cru chardonnay vineyards - Bougros, Les Preuses, Vaudesir, Grenouilles, Valmur, Les Clos and Blanchot, all planted along the valley of the Serein River before it flows into the Yonne. La Moutonne is an unofficial grand cru because it is recognised by the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne but not by the Institut National de l'Origine et de la Qualité. These distinguished grands crus comprise about 3 per cent of Chablis' annual production.
Forty premiers crus are produced in Chablis, but you may not get the full picture from their labels; small wineries are allowed to use the names of nearby, better-known producers - name dropping at its best!
What is the difference between a grand cru and a premier cru? The latter has about half a degree less alcohol by volume.
Very little oak is used in the production of basic chablis, with the grand cru and premier cru wines getting some time in oak barrels.
Another distinction is petit chablis, which is planted on higher ground in soils with a Portlandian composition - more limestone and rocks, and whiter in colour. The best examples are found just above the grands crus of the town of Chablis. The appellation was created in 1944 and a typical petit chablis is a light zesty version, with a notable flinty mineral base.