Pure Chablis

 

Petit Chablis

Another beautiful wine event took place at the stunning The Chancery private dining room in London hosted by Sommelier and master of ceremonies, Douglas Blyde, highlighting the beloved Chablis wines and its geology. This is what we learned about the purity of its aroma and taste over a divine dinner by The Chancery to pair with the wines.

The Chablis wine region is technically part of Burgundy, although its location lies northwest of Burgundy proper, and much closer in proximity and terroir to Champagne. The chalky Kemmeridgian limestone soils help to radiate the bright sunshine back up to the vines, which aids greatly during the crucial ripening periods of late summer when it tends to be quite cool.

The region radiates outward from the town of Chablis at its center, which lies around the halfway mark between the cities of Paris and Dijon. The wine here is 100% Chardonnay, and there are layers of quality and complexity that are delineated by four levels of classification: The Grand Crus, of which there are seven, are all located on one southwest facing hillside just outside the town of Chablis. Next come the Premier Crus, which numbered forty as of the year 2000. Most of the Premier Cru vineyards are on southeast facing slopes, some even sharing borders with the Grand Crus.

The basic Chablis AOC is next, and covers the most land under vine as well as offering the greatest variations in quality between producers. Lowest on the totem pole is Petit Chablis: created to satisfy market demand for Chablis wine, Petit Chablis encompasses vineyards outside of the general appellation as well as outlying areas. The majority of Petit Chablis plantings are on geologically younger soils, its sites differing vastly in terms of aspect and potential for consistent ripeness.

Chablis wines are bright, leaner and higher in acidity than those of the rest of Burgundy, due to its northern latitudes. Common descriptors are ‘flinty’ and ‘steely’, referring in part to the fact that most are unoaked, the better examples showing aspects of their terroir that lift the mineral qualities of the wine to the fore. Some other Chablis taste descriptors are common to chardonnay in general: apple, melon, pear and mineral, the level of concentration directly related to the quality of the viticulture as well as the winemaking.

Virtually all of the Chardonnay in Chablis undergoes malolactic fermentation, a secondary fermentation that transforms the primary malic acid into lactic acid. The resulting wine will display distinctly creamy notes and a highly textured mid palate that could easily be mistaken for oak treatment. Some of the Premier Crus and all of the Grand Crus use oak, which contributes to the complexity of the wine by adding layers of flavor and texture that could not be obtained otherwise. Basic Chablis and Petit Chablis are made for early drinking, but Grand Crus and many Premier Crus are quite ageworthy, having the potential to develop in the bottle for ten years or more.

Food pairings for Chablis

For Petit Chablis, try snails in garlic butter, or the ubiquitous Chablisienne Gourges, which are little balls of pastry flavored with aged Comte cheese, seafood or fish & chips. For a simpler meal, scrambled eggs do very well, especially with a bit of shaved white truffle (the mushroom, not the chocolate!). On the night we had crab beignet and truffle arancini with cheesy, creamy centre – just divine!

Chablis’ most typical and classic pairing is probably oysters. Try to avoid the Premier Crus or the Grand Crus with oysters, as the match is much better without a potential oak influence. Any light and flaky fish also does well, such as mullet or red snapper, accompanied by a light Chablis cream sauce, sushi & sashimi and fish stews.  On the night, we had meaty marinated raw hand dive scallops, a cool cucumber jelly, avocado cream, sesame filo and a tangy shiso dressing – a winner dish!

Chablis Premier Cru pairs very nicely with richer foods and smoked ham. Accompanied by mushroom  is pure heaven, the complex and often smoky notes of the wine providing a bridge to the sweet and fatty meat. Mild or semi-soft cheeses also do well here or consider a nice salad of freshly picked bib lettuce dressed with Parmesan vinaigrette. On the night, we had tartare of trout, poached apple, nettle puree, macadamia nuts and trout eggs, adish full of textures and flavours.

Lobster or any rich shellfish does right by the Grand Crus, the richer, the better! Match the highly textured wine to a rich and creamy dish and you can’t go wrong – the best always does well with the best!  On the night, we had roasted quail, cannelloni of leg of quail and frois gras, sweetcorn, hazelnuts, pickled mushrooms and wild garlic, an unexpected match, and a delicious one.

Last but not least we had a delightful Mature Chablis matched with some superb cheese board from Neal’s Yeard Diary. The Perfect finish of the evening.

Some of the Chablis wines we tasted during the evening:

 

Disclosure: I was a guest of Douglas Blyde and SopexaUK at this heavenly event.
Another amusing account of this event head over to  The Wine Scribbler

 

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7 Comments

  1. June 29, 2015 / 11:19 am

    Hi Nisha, glad this post helped you and hopefully others too. R

  2. Agata Pokutycka
    June 29, 2015 / 11:19 am

    Looking at your pictures it looks like it was a wonderful event. Wish I was there.

  3. June 29, 2015 / 11:19 am

    The wine and the dishes sound absolutely mouthwatering delicious.

  4. June 29, 2015 / 11:23 am

    Hey Agata and Sharon, Indeed the wines and food pairing at this event were amazing and great Chablis education too!

  5. viswa
    June 30, 2015 / 9:08 am

    wines and dishes combination are good,sounds are amazing…..

  6. July 2, 2015 / 10:00 pm

    Viswa, it was a beautiful and well presented event. A treat! R