WineTime France News

Chablis has seen two very good recent vintages…2010 and now 2011. OK if I had to choose between the two then i’d opt for the 2010 vintage.

2011 had an “up and down” season, with a very warm spring and early summer (until mid-july), where the bad weather set in. Spring almost saw drought conditions in the vineyard, with “vignerons” worried about “stress hydrique”.  It is all down to where your vineyard “plot” is situated.

However 2010 still remains the reference. The aromas were of the purest and it has such great length…giving way to the characteristic minerality that only Chablis can provide. Try the Chablis Grand Cru if you want to witness this experience at first hand.

These are Chablis that can be cellered for some time…up to 10 years!!!

Now what is even more interesting are the prices. Chablis prices haven’t increased pretty much since the year 2000!!!! You can find an excellent Premier Cru for between 15 and 20 euros!

Why is this? Well, quite simply because the surface area of vineyards has increased to over 5000 hectares (12,500 acres). This means that Chablis is now producing around 35 million bottles. Now the flip side of this is the worry it’s causing Chablisienne wine makers who are looking to find ways of increasing the price to get their profit margins back to standard. The main problem (apart from growing yields) is the low prices to be found in French supermarkets (6€ in some).

So before things get to a more typical situation, I’d advise buyers to hook onto Chablis wines and make some great deals before it is too late!!