William Fevre farms a single walled plot on the right bank of the Serein, one of the seven Grand Cru hillsides that ring the village of Chablis. Bougros sits at the northern end of that group, on the same Kimmeridgian clay and fossilised oyster shell that gives Chablis its edge. Fevre is one of the largest holders of Grand Cru land in the appellation, and this is the estate's own bottling from that slope.
- Chardonnay, the only grape of Chablis.
- Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, one of seven grand cru climats.
- 2016, a vintage split by frost and hail in Chablis.
- 12.5% alcohol, dry, high acidity.
- Kimmeridgian clay and fossil oyster shell.
How it is made
Grand Cru in Chablis is a defined set of slopes, not a claim a producer can choose. Bougros is the most northerly of the seven, and its fruit is usually the last picked. The wine ferments dry and sees no new oak, so the texture comes from the site and the lees rather than from barrel.
How it tastes
Green apple and citrus first, then flint and wet stone, then a saline finish that lingers. Medium in body but firm, with the high acidity holding the whole thing upright. It is a broad, powerful Chablis rather than a delicate one.
Where it comes from
Chablis sits closer to Champagne than to the rest of Burgundy, which is why the wines taste of stone rather than butter. The vineyards lie on a band of Kimmeridgian marl laid down when this was a shallow tropical sea, and the shells are still in the soil.
Good to know
Chablis Grand Cru is one appellation covering seven named climats, and Bougros is the one most often described as the fullest. The 2016 growing season in Chablis was hit hard by frost in April and hail in May, so quantities were small across the appellation.
