Holy Terroir
Do you believe you can smell the type of soil a wine is grown in? Some might think this is high-level showmanship or one must be a sommelier to identify it. But it is true. The French call it ‘terroir.’ We can smell the type of earth that the wine is grown in. Not in all wines of course, but there are many classic examples around the world: slate-grown German Riesling exhibiting its wet stone character, gravel beds giving their essence to Bordeaux, terra rossa soils showing its spices in Coonawarra Cabernet from Australia and then there is Chablis. This cool/continental climate appellation at the northern reach of the Burgundy department in France has an extreme expression of earth that makes it unique and raises it to one of the highest expressions of ‘terroir’ on the planet.
This Chablis is not the one in a box or a jug. Chablis is made with only one singular grape, Chardonnay. And it comes only from this small appellation—measuring about 16,000 acres total—of which about 12,000 is planted (compared to 125,000 acres planted in Bordeaux) about an hour-and-a-half drive southeast of Paris. There you will arrive in the town of Chablis, which lies on the Serein River, a waterway that bisects the appellation from northwest to southeast. What sets Chablis apart from any other chardonnay producing or any other region per se is its soil. It is a very special type of limestone known as Kimmeridgian, which are about 150 million years old. It is mixed with marl and an ancient seabed of fossilized shellfish including oysters and diatoms. In fact, the last time I visited Chablis I found one myself as I walked in the vineyards.
As Chablis is part of Burgundy, there is also a hierarchy ascribed to its vineyards. Going from least to greatest one begins with Petit Chablis. The soils in these vineyards have less Kimmeridgian soils and include more Portlandian limestone, which is deemed lesser in quality. The next rung up is Chablis which can literally come from anywhere in the appellation so the quality here can be variable but keeping to the great producers will assure quality. Rising even higher we find Premier Cru wines. There are only 40 vineyards of this status although there may be up to 80 different sub-vineyard names aka lieuxdits used in practice. The greatest of all are the Grand Crus of Chablis. There are only seven: Bougros, Blanchots, Grenouilles, Valmur, Vaudesir, Les Preuses and Les Clos. These are the epitome of ‘terroir’ and some of the highest expressions of Chardonnay.
Great Chablis is a complex mélange of white and yellow citrus, pitted fruit, electric acidity with a laser-like focus, sleek texture (never heavy) and the ex- pression of oyster shells (and I mean that literally). In other parts of the world Chardonnay is always treated with new oak, in Chablis new oak treatment is an exception. Here most winemakers believe that new oak obfuscates the true essence and terroir of the wine. I prefer them without new oak although there are delicious examples of new oaked Chardonnay i.e. Domaine Laroche. The best age beautifully gaining complexity, more texture and intensifying the earthiness from which it was born.
The debate as to who is the best producer includes two names: Raveneau and Dauvissat. These producers put the vineyard expression before the wine-making. That is to say that both believe the wine is made in the vineyard and that the vineyard should speak louder than the winemaking. To drink a Grand Cru from either of these domains is a fabulous treat and luxury. The Grand Cru Les Clos or simply Clos as Raveneau labels their bottling is one of the greatest expressions of Chardonnay period. But there are plenty of other top-quality producers in the village: William Fevre, Lavantureux, Louis Michel, Billaud-Simon, Savary and Christian Moreau would be great additions to any cellar.
Drinking Chablis is always refreshing. Served chilled it not only quenches your thirst but will also perk up your taste buds. It pairs well with almost any seafood and cuts through butter and cream sauces like a hot knife to cleanse your palate. My favorite pairing with Chablis is (wait for it) oysters. Once you have them together you will taste the link between the soil and the wine. Then you smell the message that the wine is sending you, a message from the earth.
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