Chablis French wine appellation guide: location, history, wines, climate & soil
Chablis is Burgundy's northernmost wine area and one of the world's most famous white-wine appellations, renowned for crisp, pure, mineral Chardonnay with a distinctive flinty, saline character.
More info about Chablis
Geographic position
Northeastern France, in the Yonne department, around the small town of Chablis on the banks of the Serein river, about 180 km southeast of Paris, closer to Champagne than to the Côte d'Or.
Origin & history
Cistercian monks of the Abbey of Pontigny planted vines here in the 12th century. Chablis was once a vast vineyard supplying Paris, until phylloxera and frosts reduced it to a few hundred acres in the 1950s. Frost protection then allowed a revival. The AOC was created in 1938, with a hierarchy of Petit Chablis, Chablis, 40 Premiers Crus and seven Grand Cru climats such as Les Clos and Vaudésir.
Wines & grape varieties
White wine only, from 100% Chardonnay, mostly unoaked. Expect green apple, lemon, white flowers, oyster shell and a saline, flinty minerality, with vibrant acidity; Grands Crus age for 10 to 20 years.
Climate & soil
Cool semi-continental climate with spring frost risk. Kimmeridgian limestone and marl full of tiny fossilised oyster shells.
Wine region: Burgundy
Grape varieties: Chardonnay