William Fevre farms some of the oldest vineyard land in Chablis, and Montmains is one of the premiers crus that made the village's name. This is Chardonnay from the left bank of the Serein, where the Kimmeridgian limestone sits close to the surface and gives the wine its grip.
- Chardonnay, the only white grape of Chablis.
- Chablis Premier Cru, Montmains — left bank of the Serein.
- 2020, a small, concentrated vintage in Chablis.
- 12.5% ABV, dry, light-bodied, high acidity.
- Kimmeridgian clay and limestone soils.
How it is made
Chablis Premier Cru is a defined appellation: the vineyards are delimited, yields are capped, and the wine must come from Chardonnay grown inside those boundaries. Montmains sits on the left bank of the Serein, where the slope faces south and south-east and the topsoil is thin over the hard limestone below. Chablis is typically fermented and raised in stainless steel or old neutral wood, so the fruit and the soil stay in front and the oak stays out of the way.
How it tastes
Green apple and lemon at the front, then flint and wet stone, then a saline finish that lingers. The acidity is high and the body is light, so the structure comes from tension rather than weight. It is a wine that opens slowly in the glass and shows more each time it is returned to. Give it air and the raciness arrives; the distinction is already there.
Where it comes from
Chablis is the northernmost serious white wine district in Burgundy, a cool, marginal climate where ripening is never guaranteed. That is precisely why the wines taste like this. The Kimmeridgian subsoil — compressed marine limestone full of fossilised oyster shells — runs through the best sites and is the reason Chablis is talked about in the same breath as the Côte d'Or.
Good to know
Montmains is one of the premiers crus on the left bank of the Serein, the river that cuts through Chablis and divides the vineyards into two distinct banks. The left bank sites tend to be stonier and more austere in their youth, and Montmains is a classic example. Premier Cru in Chablis is a step below Grand Cru but a clear step above village level, and the difference shows in the density and the length.
