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Howard W. Hewitt

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Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Domaine Fevre

Chablis is Long Way from California

10 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Howard in Food & Travel, France

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Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru, Chablis Premier Cru, Domaine Fevre, Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Jean Marc Brocard, Simon-Billaud

Chablis Rock

Social media is a powerful and interesting tool. We worship it, belittle it, ignore it and fuss over it. And that’s just Monday through Thursday!

For the most part social media is a wonderful way to stay in contact with friends near and far. It’s also a great tool to talk about common interests – like wine.

After a posting last night about enjoying a couple glasses of Chablis, I had a lot considerable chatter. Here’s the post:

“If you’re one of those people that just don’t care much for Chardonnay, you should try Chablis before writing it off. I am NOT a fan of California, oaked Chard – but really enjoy the minerality and crispness of the same grape grown in Chablis. Tonight’s Chablis is a simple one but quite tasty: Drouhin’s 2010 Vaudon Chablis. You can find it around $20 everywhere!”

Chablis, France

Chablis, France

It was rather surprising that many had not really tried real Chablis – grown at the north end of Burgundy. Several asked about the difference and why Chablis is special.

Not to start too much with French geeky wine talk, but it’s all about the terroir. Let’s start by mentioning the photo at the top of the post. I took that shot atop a cold Chablis hill in October 2012. Look closely at the floor of the vineyard and you will see beautiful fall leaves and stones – LOTS of stones.

Chablis’ Chardonnay is planted on the hillsides surround the beautiful tiny hamlet of Chablis with soil atop limestone. Those rocks seen above are seen in every vineyard in Chablis. The limestone gives Chablis its “flinty” or mineral flavor.

Additionally, Chablis is a cool climate area where Chardonnay grapes do not ripen like California. In the hot California sun Chardonnay becomes very ripe with higher alcohol levels from all that sun and hot air. Chablis’ Chardonnays are grown in cooler temperatures and produces lighter fruit and more acidity.

Chablis is largely fermented and aged in stainless steel. A new generation of Chablis winemakers are experimenting with oak but far less than you will find in a white Burgundy. From a visit with winemakers over three days, we heard often that only a portion of the final blend would be aged in oak. And often the oak is older wood without the impact of new oak – often reserved for red wines elsewhere in France.

Understanding really good wine is more often than not a lesson in geography, climate and soils. I’ve been lucky to visit wine regions around the world and the one consistent message from winemakers about great wine? Great wine is made in the vineyard.

A friend commented on the Facebook post that Chablis can be expensive – and he’s right. Those $15 bottles, are frankly, not going to give you a true representation of great Chablis. I do believe the Drouhin Vaudon Chabis is a good entry level bottle of wine. It can be found in the $18-$23 range in good wine shops.

Chablis has four levels – Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru, and Grand Cru. I’d strongly recommend trying at least the Premier Cru Chablis to get a great taste of French terroir.

Averages are always a so-so barometer but you can count on spending $35-$50 for a Premier Cru Chablis. The Grand Cru Chablis are most often those which will see some oak in the aging process and be the most pricey. But these are wines that are age-worthy! There are only 230 acres of Grand Cru vineyards so it’s truly a special wine. Grand Cru wines tend to start around $50 a bottle and go up!

Top end Chablis is delightful and as far from California’s oaky, buttery Chardonnay as a big red wine. Here are some names easy to find and great producers: Joseph Drouhin, Domaine Fevre, Jean-Marc Brocard, and my personal favorite Simon-Billaud. These four are all based on personal tastings.

I’m a bit prejudiced toward Simon-Billaud wines because we met in the old chateau with Bernard Billaud. Through a young translator he talked about his family’s years of winemaking. In my nearly seven years of wine-writing, he gave one of the great quotes you’ll ever hear. It’s not arrogance, it’s pride.

From a March blog post/newspaper column about the trip:

Bernard Billaud of Billaud-Simon

Bernard Billaud of Billaud-Simon

How does a little minerality and acid change a wine that everyone knows and everyone has probably tasted? It’s the magic of terrior. I remember the aggravated words of Bernard Billaud who said (and I paraphrase) …’if you are talking Chablis it has to be about the minerality and acidity, and if not …. you are just making Chardonnay.’

And you had to hear the derision in “just making Chardonnay” to appreciate the Frenchman’s dignity and pride. It was quite a moment.

If you visit that blog post you’ll find links to all my posts from Chablis and lots of photos.

I was joined on that Chablis trip by other U.S.-based wine writers. One of the writers I most enjoyed was Michael Apstein. Here is a very thorough piece he penned after the trip.

As promised on Facebook, the one region in the U.S. making great – and largely unoaked – Chardonnay is Oregon. Many Oregon Chards are the closest I’ve tasted to Chablis on this side of the big pond!

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Learning Chablis’ Differences

27 Saturday Oct 2012

Posted by Howard in France

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Burgundy, Chablis, Domaine Fevre, Eric Szablowski, Jean Marc Brocard, Montee' de Tonnerre, Pascal Bouchard


Very chilly but spectacular view of Chablis from the vineyards

Who stands atop a hill with strong winds and 36 degree weather talking about wine? I would be guilty as charged.

Szablowksi talking terroir atop the hill
But it’s not a normal occasion to be standing on top of a hill overlooking Chablis, France, with one of the area’s top educators. Our small press contingent had the opportunity this morning to spend time with Eric Szablowski, one of Burgundy’s leading wine experts.
It was darn cold but fascinating to hear why Chablis is so special and different. At several times this morning the group discussion followed a similar pattern. The world knows Chablis as a fresh, clean wine with good minerality – but they can also be quite different.
Erik took us into the vineyards and showed us the incredible slopes on the hills around Chablis and nearby villages. He explained the effect of the clay and limestone soils which effect the vineyards and therefore the wines.
Chablis is not a large area with 350-400 wine growers and just more than 100 producers of any significant amounts of wine. Additionally, these produces export approximately 70-80 percent of all the wines they make.
Tasting at the Fete des Vins
But to understand how one wine with the standard characteristics can vary to the next Erik explained the terroir. Take the Grand Cru vineyard, for instance. There is just one Grand Cru but there are seven different sub climates within that vineyard area with its slopes, soils, and exposure to the sun. “Eighty percent of the quality of the wine is determined in the vineyard and the other 20 percent by the winemaker,” he offered.
We followed up the chill walk around two sections of Chablis vineyards by tasting the 2012 ChablisWine Award winners. We tasted 10 different wines which won mostly gold, and a few silver, medals in the recent competition. The tasting showed the differences slight and significant the Chardonnay grape can produce in this diverse terroir.
I hope to add notes on most of the 10 wines later. I did take notes to share because most are available in the U.S. My two favorites were Damien and Romain Bouchard’s Premier Cru Montee’ de Tonnerre and Domaine Drouhin’s Vaudon Chablis Grand Cru.
The event we’re here to enjoy is the Chablis Fete des Vins, or festival of wine. There are more than 50 producers pouring their wines, food, and entertainment.
Our group translator Isabell Terrillon accompanied me to a number of booths she recommened for visits. Here are a few of my favorites. All of the ones listed here have at least some distribution in the U.S.
Domaine Fevre (Nathtalie and Giles) – I tasted through most of the Chablis with Nathalie who speaks great English. I loved the consistency of her wines with or without hints of old oak. Many of the labels had good bottles but some not quite at the same standard.  Her wines were age worthy but showed quite nice as young wines.
Domaine Chantemerle Boudin Pere & Fils – A limited selection of wines but also available in the U.S. I loved his two Premier Cru wines at very affordable prices. With a very old-world label they represent the second tier (Premier) well at prices in France of under 20E.
Vins Fins de Chablis (Isabelle et Denis Pommier) – Again very consistent across the four major appelations of Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier and Grand Cru. Isabelle took time to answer questions and talk about the wines. Another very affordable label even once you add the importing costs and distribution markups for top quality Chablis.
Jean-Marc Brocard– This was my first stop of the festival and one of the best. The Brocard name is well known not just in Chablis but around the world. Consistently in elegance and style, the wines were consistently well balanced with great minerality, finesse in winemaking, and reasonably priced. I bought a Premier Cru to bring home.
Domaine des Marronniers (Bernard Legland) – A producers of very stylish wines with understated fruit and that nice acidic finish you expect from Chablis. Bernard poured the wines at the booth and talked about the vinification (through Isabelle’s able translation.)
Pascal Bouchard – A great name producing great wines. I like the twist of his sons, who won one of the Chabis Commissions 2012 awards for their Premier Cru Montee de Tonnere  label. Romain Brocard poured three different Chablis which I found enjoyable across the board. The Montee de Tonnere was one of the best wines I tasted all day.
I did taste at a couple of other booths but found the lines inconsistent or not to my liking.

Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com

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