All About Chablis
For years I’ve been threatening to get a tattoo that says “Chablis Is My Spirit Animal”. It hasn’t happened yet, but maybe still one day. This is because I’m such a fiend for minerality in wine, therefore Chablis is my overall favourite wine region and probably my spirit animal. I keep trying to collect Chablis, but most of it just gets drank. Luckily, at the moment I can’t imagine anyone in the country has a better lineup of Chablis available for home delivery. So this week I’m featuring a stable of all-star wineries that range from affordable to baller, a nice cross-section of great producers and vineyards from across the region.
If you’re less familiar, Chablis is a town and region in northern France, roughly halfway between Champagne and the Cote d’Or of Burgundy proper (although Chablis is technically considered to be part of Burgundy). In Chablis they only make white wine, there’s no such thing as a red Chablis. And like Burgundy whites, the variety is 100% Chardonnay only. The special thing about Chablis that distinguishes it from other Burgundy whites are it’s Kimmeridgean soils. These are very old soils that once formed a seabed millions of years ago and are a combination of limestone, grey marl clay, and chalk-like decomposing limestone mixed in with the fossilized oyster shells and other crustaceans. The limestone and chalky soil (like Champagne) imparts the persistent, almost saline minerality in the wine that makes the region so famous. For a really great overview of the soils of Chablis, check out this link on my friend Jamie Goode’s blog from the UK.
It is also traditional for Chablis wines to be aged on their lees (the dead yeast cells after fermentation) which imparts a richer texture to the wine and contributes to their intense minerality. Traditionally, the wines should not be oaky at all, but it is not illegal to use oak barrels. They just use older ones that do not impart any oak flavours to the wine but just help mature it, rounding it out and giving it more texture. Production in stainless steel tanks is also very popular to enhance the un-oaked style. The general overall results are more richly textured wines, with crisp acidity, persistent minerality and fruit flavours that range from Granny Smith green apples, pears, and lots of lemon/lime citrus components. Ideal matches for oysters, scallops, fish, chicken, and all kinds of cheeses and charcuterie. So if you’re like me and love Chablis, here’s a bunch of selections you can’t go wrong with:
The vineyards and town of Chablis where Domaine Laroche is based
Domaine Laroche is housed in a picturesque former monestary right in the town of Chablis, called The Obédiencerie. It once housed the monks of Saint Martin who made the first Chablis wines as early as the 9th Century, giving the place 1000 years of history back to the middle ages. But the current incarnation of the winery began in 1850 when a vineyard labourer named Jean Victor Laroche, purchased a small plot of vines in Chablis. The property was passed to his son Henri who acquired more vineyards as they expanded their operation at a time before Chablis was the household name it is now. They saw the future potential to be one of the finest wine producing areas and continued to reinvest their profits in acquiring more vineyards before the prices rose to what they are today. As a result Domaine Laroche owns some of the best Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and Chablis village sites in the area. It was in 1985 that great-grandson Michel Laroche purchased the Obédiencerie and moved their operation into the same building where monks had made the first Chablis wines back in the 9th Century. Completely renovated now, it is one of the architectural (as well as wine-focused) highlights of Chablis if you’re ever to visit.
The farming philosphy at Laroche is to do everything as organic as possible. In 2010 they began converting their vineyards over to organics, but doing so properly is a long process to achieve the natural balances of the vineyard and build immunity in the vines. They do not use any chemicals or fertilizers in the vineyards, operating organically and slowly converting all the vineyards. The Chablis Saint Martin is a tribute to the patron saint of Chablis and the monks who originally made Chablis in the monastery the winery now lives in. It’s a selection of their best plots from Village level Chablis vineyards, fermented in stainless steel vats and aged for 8 months on its lees in a combination of stainless steel and large oak ‘foudre’ barrels with very light filtration before bottling to retain as much terroir character as possible. The result is a wine with notes of chalk, white flowers, fresh apples, hints of brioche and nice a lingering minerality. Over the last 10 years so many late spring frosts and mid-summer hail storms have ravaged the area decreasing farmer’s yields, continuously driving up prices. So as most Chablis are pushing $40+, this wine is an incredible value for just $26. If you’re as big of a Chablis fan as I am, this could become your new go-to bottle.
My buddy expressing how we all feel about Chablis on a visit to Defaix
The long-standing Chablis staple in our portfolio. Such consistent picture perfect wines year-in and year-out. Bernard Defaix (not to be confused with Daniel or Etienne Defaix) is a 4th generation family business started on 2 hectares of land in 1959 by Bernard Defaix. Today Bernard’s two sons Sylvain and Diddier make the wine along with Diddier’s wife Helene taking care of the sales and administration. And they’ve added to the brand by including a line of Burgundy wines from the village of Rully where Helene’s family is from. A true boutique family business with everyone contributing. The winery home estate vineyard is on the Premier Cru ‘Cote de Lechet’, located on the slopes of the village of Milly, and they own several other vineyards around the region. Since 2012 they are certified organic, but they’ve been farming organically for years before that. They are also using various biodynamic natural inputs to help with vineyard fertilization and vitality. We currently stock the Chablis and the Cote de Lechet Premier Cru, both of which are masterclasses in minerality:
Bernard Defaix, Chablis, 2018 | $39.99 x12
The Chablis is aged in stainless steel tanks so as to respect the typicity of the appellation. It is characterized by their freshness, power and tenacity. The bouquet displays a dominance of mineral notes intermingling with delicate touches of citrus fruit (lemon and grapefruit).
Bernard Defaix, Chablis Premier Cru ‘Côte de Lechet’, 2018 | $52.99 x6
With 8 hectares of Cote de Lechet, this makes them the largest land owners of this Premier Cru, and they often find impressive fossilized crusteasions that had been perfectly preserved. The remarkable stony and sunny soil is captured in this powerful and complex wine. It flourishes with age and expresses mineral aromas reminiscent of gunflint. They recommend serving with fish or poultry, and richer white butter or cream sauces. This wine is wonderful now, but can last decades in the cellar (I had some outstanding 1984 and 1985’s when I last visited the domaine!).
Patrick and his dog outside the cellar door.
Patrick is a native Quebecois who owned a wine bar in Montreal in the late 1990’s when he decided to leave it all behind to go try make wine himself. He had done some work in wine around the world before opening his restaurant and he ended up making Chablis for Olivier Leflaive in Burgundy. This eventually got him a job with organic and biodynamic star Jean-Marc Brocard where he became the cellar master, having a direct hand in making their wine as well. He learned a lot about biodynamics, low intervention winemaking and developed enough relationships with excellent grape growers to break off and start his own wine label: Maison Patrick Piuze in 2008. Since then he’s risen to quite a bit of fame in Chablis, with top critics like Jancis Robinson even likening him to the next Ravineau or Dauvissat (incontestably the top two producers of Chablis).
While he does not own any vineyards, he doesn’t buy any fruit or juice. He has contracts on the vineyards and looks after the viticulture himself and goes in with his own team and hand harvests everything himself. He’s identified excellent sites of old vines in various parts all over Chablis and even some vineyards outside of the Chablis zone that are on Kimmeridgean limestone. He owns an amazing cellar in the town of Chablis that winds underground throughout the town via a series of culverts, 2 stories below street level. On top of all that Patrick is a really fun guy. When I first visited the winery in 2014 we spent 2 hours going through the cellar tasting through all the barrels and back-vintages of bottles. As we thought the day was wrapping up we ended up sticking around and drinking a case of beer with Patrick in the winery for the rest of the afternoon. And our representation of his wines in Ontario came from this amazing day. All parts of Patrick’s personality and operation exude the authenticity that his wines also exhibit. They’re a bit pricier, but a definite must-try for any Chablis fan. Because we don’t often have these in stock, we don’t have a Lifford page for them, and Patrick’s website is not up to date either, so no official links for further research…but a quick Google search will certainly bring in a variety of info on them.
Patrick Piuze, Cote de Auxerre, Bourgogne, 2018 | $46.99 x12
From hills around the city of Auxerre about 20 mins outside of the Chablis region. The vines in this area are also grown on Kimmeridgean Limestone but are not part of the Chablis zone, so it takes an overall Burgundy (Bourgogne) label. But don’t be fooled, this tastes nothing like classic Burgundy, it tastes just like great Chablis. The grapes are pressed and fermented in his cellar in Chablis with the native wild yeast and are aged along with all the rest of his wines. But as much as it tastes like it, it’s not technically Chablis. Look for rich notes of creamy lees characteristics, minerals, lemon pith and zippy citrus fruit. A really interesting bottle for any Chablis fan.
Patrick Piuze, Chablis ‘Decouverté’, 2018 | $114.99 x3 1500ml Magnums
From a single vineyard right next to the Premier Cru of ‘Vaulorent’, on the north facing side of the Grand Cru hill ‘Des Couverts’. The vineyard lies in a cooler microclimate and is typically the last wine to be harvested, retaining a racey acidity that makes for an almost electric minerality.
Patrick Piuze, Chablis Grand Cru ‘Bougros’, 2018 | $128.99 x6
This comes from a parcel of vineyard on the plateau of the Bougros Grand Cru vineyard. This section was planted in 1956 and with nearly 50 years of age on the vines they produce incredibly complex fruit from one of the most famous and most powerful Grand Crus.
Patrick Piuze, Chablis Premier Cru ‘Les Forêts’, 2018 | $189.99 x3 1500ml Magnums
This comes from a single parcel of 70+-year-old vines that border Dauvissat’s parcel in Les Forêts. Look for salty and savoury mineral notes in the wine from the even mix of chalk and clay in the top soil. Les Forêts is easily one of my all-time personal favourite Premier Cru vineyards…and everything is better in magnums!
Just a reminder that the order deadline for Friday delivery is Wednesday at 9am. Reach out if you have any questions, and check out the archive of past FEATURES if you’re interested in other recommendations. Lastly, please feel free to forward this to anyone in Ontario who may be interested in home wine delivery and follow us on instagram for daily wine content at @capitalwine.ottawa!