--- title: "Chablis, Burgundy: Wine Village, 7 Grand Crus and Tasting" description: "All 7 grand crus share one hillside above the Serein, on fossil-rich Kimmeridgian limestone. Taste in Chablis with a private driver, 1 h 30 from Beaune." url: https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/chablis lang: en updated: 2026-10-01 generated: 2026-10-08 image: https://www.cote-privee.com/og/villages/chablis.png --- # Chablis > Chablis: Burgundy's northern outpost, where Chardonnay grows on fossil-rich limestone above the river Serein. Chablis is a wine village (Chablis & Auxerrois), 1 h 30 by road (135 km) from Beaune. White wine · 7 grands crus · Private driver from Beaune: €345 one way for the whole car, up to 4 guests. Chablis is a small town on the river Serein, about 90 minutes north-west of Beaune. Its name is famous around the world, yet the vineyard is compact and easy to read. All seven grands crus share one hillside facing the town, while the premiers crus spread through the side valleys around it. ## Key facts - Type: Wine village - Region: Chablis & Auxerrois - Location: 120 km north-west of Beaune · Chablis & Auxerrois - Coordinates: 47.8136, 3.8002 - 1 h 30 from Beaune - White wine - 7 grands crus - Appellations: Chablis, Petit Chablis - Grapes: Chardonnay - Premiers crus: 40 - From Beaune: ≈ 1 h 30 · 135 km - €880 for a [long-day wine tour](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/long-day) from Beaune, up to 4 guests ## Getting there - [Private driver from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/private-driver): 1 h 30 by road (135 km), €345 one way for the whole car. Coming by train or plane? [Transfers from stations and airports](https://www.cote-privee.com/transfers) Estimates per vehicle for up to 4 guests, tolls included. Your price is confirmed when you book. ## History Chablis enters written history in 867, when King Charles the Bald gave the monastery of Saint-Loup and the estate of Chablis to monks of Saint-Martin of Tours who were fleeing the Vikings. The town's great collegiate church is still dedicated to Saint Martin. In 1114 Cistercian monks founded Pontigny Abbey, a short drive to the north. The abbey soon received gifts of vines in Chablis, and its monks did much to develop the vineyard. Their 12th-century cellar, the Petit Pontigny, still stands in town. Chablis prospered as a wine town, with about 4,000 inhabitants by 1537. Hard times followed: a Huguenot attack in 1568, then phylloxera and mildew at the end of the 19th century. The appellation was created in 1938, and German aircraft bombed the town on 15 June 1940. By 1955 only about 550 hectares of vines remained, and frost wiped out the 1957 crop. Growers now fight spring frost with heaters and water sprinklers, and the vineyard covers about 5,800 hectares. ## The wines Chablis is white only, and made entirely from Chardonnay. The best slopes lie on Kimmeridgian limestone and marl, about 150 million years old and full of tiny fossil oysters called Exogyra virgula. Petit Chablis comes mostly from slightly younger Portlandian limestone. The wines are prized for freshness, precision and a saline, chalky edge rather than weight. The grands crus, about 100 hectares on the right bank of the Serein, add depth and reward ageing. **All the grands crus (7)**: Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur, Vaudésir **Well-known premiers crus (40 premiers crus)**: Montée de Tonnerre, Mont de Milieu, Fourchaume, Vaillons, Montmains, Côte de Léchet ## What to see ### Collégiale Saint-Martin Begun around 1160 and rebuilt from 1220, the collegiate church has been a listed monument since 1862. Its side door is covered with horseshoes, left by pilgrims asking Saint Martin to protect their horses. ### Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne Opened in May 2023 in the monks' old cellar of the Petit Pontigny, with a modern wing. This branch of Burgundy's wine centre explains Chablis and its climats, and offers tastings. ### Pontigny Abbey Founded in 1114 as the second daughter house of Cîteaux, Pontigny keeps one of the largest Cistercian churches in the world. Thomas Becket took refuge here from 1164 to 1166. ### The grand cru hillside Across the Serein from the old town, all seven grands crus share a single slope facing south-west, between about 100 and 250 metres. From the valley road, the whole hierarchy fits in one view. ## Good to know Allow a full day, with about 90 minutes of motorway each way. Taste in town, walk the old centre, then add Pontigny Abbey, or the red and Sauvignon villages of Irancy and Saint-Bris, about half an hour away. ## Did you know? In 1478 Chablis gained the fifth printing press in France. The Le Rouge family printed their first book there, the Livre des bonnes moeurs, on 1 April 1478. ## Around Chablis What to combine with Chablis on the same day, nearest first. ### Villages - [Saint-Bris](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/saint-bris) (14 km away): Burgundy's Sauvignon village, built over a maze of medieval cellars. - [Irancy](https://www.cote-privee.com/villages/irancy) (15 km away): The red wine village of the Yonne, set in a bowl of vines and cherry trees. ### Châteaux - [Château Long-Depaquit](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-long-depaquit) (1 km away): An 18th-century château in the heart of Chablis, home of the grand cru La Moutonne. - [Château de Béru](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-beru) (7 km away): A family château above the Chablis vineyards, with a rare sundial and moon dial, and biodynamic wines. - [Château de Maligny](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-maligny) (7 km away): A castle above the Serein north of Chablis, whose name lives on in the Durup family's wines. - [Château de Viviers](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-viviers) (9 km away): A 17th-century wine château on the high slopes east of Chablis, now farmed organically, with guest rooms. - [Château de Tanlay](https://www.cote-privee.com/chateaux/chateau-de-tanlay) (22 km away): A moated Renaissance château of the Coligny family, with a trompe-l'œil gallery and a long canal. ### Things to do - [Domaine Céline & Frédéric Gueguen](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-celine-et-frederic-gueguen) (1 km away): A young family domaine from two Chablis winemaking families, with a tasting cellar in the heart of Chablis. - [Domaine William Fèvre](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-william-fevre-chablis) (1 km away): A leading Chablis estate with a large holding of grands crus, and a tasting room in the centre of Chablis. - [Cité des Climats et vins de Bourgogne, Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/cite-des-climats-chablis) (1 km away): Burgundy's northern vineyards explained in the medieval cellar of the Pontigny monks. - [L’Obédiencerie, Domaine Laroche](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/obediencerie-domaine-laroche) (1 km away): A 9th-century monastic house in Chablis, with a medieval wine press and the cellars of Domaine Laroche. - [La Chablisienne](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/la-chablisienne) (1 km away): The Chablis cooperative founded in 1923, with a tasting cellar covering every level of the appellation. - [Vignoble Dampt Frères](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/vignoble-dampt-freres-collan) (6 km away): Two brothers' estate in Collan spanning three valleys, from Chablis grands crus to the revived wines of Tonnerre and Épineuil. - [Musée de la Vigne et du Tire-Bouchon, Domaine Alain Geoffroy](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-de-la-vigne-et-du-tire-bouchon-beine) (6 km away): Nearly 5,000 corkscrews and the old tools of the vineyard in the cellars of a Chablis family estate, with a tasting to finish. - [Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-jean-marc-brocard) (6 km away): A large family estate in Préhy, a pioneer of biodynamics in Chablis, with a panoramic tasting cellar. - [Domaine Clotilde Davenne](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-clotilde-davenne) (7 km away): An oenologist's own domaine in Préhy, with small plots from Chablis to Saint-Bris and Irancy and visits in English. - [Pontigny Abbey (Abbaye de Pontigny)](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/abbaye-de-pontigny), 12 km away: One of the largest Cistercian churches still standing, linked to three archbishops of Canterbury. - [Fosse Dionne](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/fosse-dionne-tonnerre) (14 km away): A deep karst spring and 18th-century wash house at the heart of Tonnerre. - [Hôtel-Dieu de Tonnerre](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/hotel-dieu-de-tonnerre) (14 km away): Said to be the longest medieval hospital in Europe, founded in 1293 by a queen of Sicily. - [Vieux Château de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/vieux-chateau-de-noyers) (19 km away): The overgrown ruins of one of Burgundy's great medieval fortresses, on a spur above the Serein, brought back to life by volunteers. - [Musée des Arts Naïfs et Populaires de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/musee-des-arts-naifs-et-populaires-noyers) (19 km away): Naive paintings, ex-votos, tin toys and Hokusai albums on three floors of an old school in the village of Noyers. - [Noyers-sur-Serein](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/noyers-sur-serein) (19 km away): A walled medieval village in a loop of the Serein, with timber-framed squares and fortified gates. - [Domaine Pierre-Louis et Jean-François Bersan](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/domaine-pierre-louis-et-jean-francois-bersan) (14 km away): A father-and-son estate whose wines age in a maze of medieval cellars beneath Saint-Bris-le-Vineux. - [Caves Bailly Lapierre](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/caves-bailly-lapierre) (16 km away): Crémant de Bourgogne aged in vast medieval stone quarries above the river Yonne. - [Église Saint-Pierre d’Auxerre](https://www.cote-privee.com/things-to-do/eglise-saint-pierre-auxerre) (17 km away): The winegrowers' church of Auxerre, with a flamboyant tower, a classical façade and a Renaissance gateway inspired by Naples. ### Events - **Saturday 24 – Sunday 25 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Fête des Vins de Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/fete-des-vins-de-chablis): Chablis celebrates its new vintage every year on the fourth weekend of October. (Wine festival · Chablis) - **An autumn Sunday, usually in late October, sometimes followed by a second market in November.** · [Marché aux truffes de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-aux-truffes-de-noyers): Burgundy truffles, a giant omelette and a clanging bell in the medieval squares of Noyers. (Food & markets · Noyers) - **Saturday, 24 October 2026 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Marathon de Chablis](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marathon-de-chablis): A festive marathon through the Chablis vineyards, run in costume on the Saturday of the wine festival. (Sport · Chablis) - **A weekend in early December.** · [Marché de Noël de La Chablisienne](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/marche-de-noel-de-la-chablisienne): A weekend of local crafts and festive wines at the cooperative cellar of Chablis before Christmas. (Christmas · Chablis) - **Sunday, 24 January 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Saint-Vincent tournante du Tonnerrois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante-du-tonnerrois): The winter wine festival of the Tonnerre growers, hosted by a different village each year. (Tradition · Vézinnes, 2027 host) - **Saturday 6 – Sunday 7 February 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Saint-Vincent tournante du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/saint-vincent-tournante-du-chablisien): The winter wine festival of the Chablis vineyard, hosted by a different village each year. (Tradition · Maligny, 2027 host) - **A weekend in early April.** · [Les Vinées Tonnerroises](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/vinees-tonnerroises): The wine fair of the Tonnerrois, held inside a vast 13th-century hospital. (Wine festival · Tonnerre) - **The last Sunday of April.** · [Balade gourmande du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/balade-gourmande-du-chablisien): A spring walk of about ten kilometres through the Chablis vines, with food and wine stands along the way. (Food & markets · Chablis, route changes each year) - **A few evenings in July.** · [Festival du Chablisien](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/festival-du-chablisien): Summer evening concerts in the churches and barns of the Chablis vineyard. (Music · Chablis and nearby villages) - **Most of July.** · [Rencontres musicales de Noyers](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/rencontres-musicales-de-noyers): Chamber music and masterclasses in a walled medieval village, with local wines poured after the concerts. (Music · Noyers) - **A three-day weekend at the end of July.** · [Gargouillosium](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/gargouillosium-noyers): Twenty stone carvers, three days and a crop of new gargoyles at the old castle of Noyers. (Culture · Noyers) - **Thursday 26 – Saturday 28 August 2027 (Confirmed by the organiser)** · [Musiques en Tonnerrois](https://www.cote-privee.com/events/musiques-en-tonnerrois): A roving festival of chamber music and new works in Tonnerre, a Renaissance château and village churches. (Music · Tonnerre and nearby villages) ### Guides about Chablis - [A Chablis day trip from Beaune](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/chablis-day-trip-from-beaune) - [The grand crus of Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-grand-crus) - [Burgundy’s grape varieties](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-grape-varieties) - [Harvest and truffle season in Burgundy](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-harvest-and-truffle-season) - [What a private wine tour costs](https://www.cote-privee.com/guides/burgundy-private-wine-tour-cost) ## Questions about Chablis ### How far is Chablis from Beaune? Chablis is about 1 h 30 from Beaune by road (135 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €345 for the whole car, up to 4 guests. ### What wines is Chablis known for? Chablis makes mostly white wines under these appellations: Chablis, Petit Chablis. Its grands crus: Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur, Vaudésir. It has 40 premiers crus. Its best-known premiers crus include Montée de Tonnerre, Mont de Milieu, Fourchaume. ### Can you taste wine in Chablis? Yes. Many domaines in Chablis receive visitors, usually by appointment. On a wine tour your driver plans the route and helps you book the tastings, which you pay directly to the domaines. ### Can a private driver take us to Chablis? Yes. Your driver collects you in Beaune or at your hotel in an electric Polestar 2 (up to 4 guests), waits while you visit and plans the rest of the day with you. The driver speaks English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Arabic. → [Long-day wine tour, €880](https://www.cote-privee.com/wine-tours/long-day) ## Book - [Book a driver here](https://www.cote-privee.com/book?service=wine-tour&option=long&place=village:chablis): Long-day wine tour from Beaune: €880 for the car, up to 4 guests ## Sources - - - - - - - --- Canonical page: