La Chablisienne

What you will see

At the Caveau de Chablis, staff guide you through the hierarchy of Chablis: Petit Chablis from the plateaus, Chablis, premier cru and grand cru from the Kimmeridgian slopes. Private tastings with a member of the team can be booked, pairing several wines with a Burgundian speciality. A virtual reality headset takes you into the vineyards, the winery and the bottling line. The shop sells the cooperative's wines to take home.

History

The story began on 1 May 1923. At a time of economic hardship, a group of growers led by Abbé Balitrand joined forces to form a cooperative and sell their wines together. Until the mid-1950s, members delivered their wine to La Chablisienne, which blended it and sold mostly to wholesalers. The cooperative then chose to take in the harvest as freshly pressed juice, so that it could control the whole winemaking.

That choice became the mark of the house. Growers press their grapes close to the vines, and the cooperative's team takes over for fermentation and the rest of the winemaking. La Chablisienne also owns Château Grenouilles, a single block of 7.2 hectares in the grand cru of Grenouilles, facing the town. The International Wine and Spirit Competition named it best French wine producer in 2016 and 2018.