Chablis v. Pouilly-Fuisse

Generally speaking, Chablis is more austere and not "tricked out" like other chardonnays. They are often fermented and aged in stainless steel with no oak influence, and many Chablisienne vignerons prefer indigenous yeast strains, eliminating the ability to "sculpt" the wine as most chardonnays are. The result? A high acid, relatively austere, stony, minerally type of chardonnay that makes a wonderful meal partner. Pouilly-Fuisse, on the other hand is made with most of the "bells and whistles" of most of the chardonnay out there. There is generally some oak on the wine, the wines are clean and less overtly earthy or minerally than Chablis and most interestingly, many, many of them are negociant wines, made at co-ops or growers/crushers, purchased in bulk and blended at the famous name wineries. They are a more "mainstream" style of chardonnay. My guess is if you love Chablis, you may not be as enamored with Pouilly-Fuisse, but there are certainly exceptions. Pouilly-Fuisse will not have the pentrating acidity and pronounced stoniness of Chablis. POuilly-Fuisse is delicious, but is more a wine of the masses than Chablis. I know many people who love big, ripe, high alcohol, oaky California Chardonnay, but find high quality, Grand CRu Chablis off-putting.

These are all generalizations, because there certainly are barrel fermented Chablis and domaine grown Pouilly-Fuisse, but the majority is as I explained.

Thank you very much, that helps a great deal.

quote:

Chablis that comes in large gallon jugs

This is NOT Chablis! Don't mistake California jug wine for the real thing from France. Good summary from cdr11....

PH

If you are only finding Chablis in gallon jugs, chances are that it is not the real deal. Unfortunately, many bulk producers of jug wine have labeled it as “Chablis.” Real Chablis from Burgundy is about the purest expression of Chardonnay that you will find because typically there is little or no oak to compete with the fruit.

We stay as far away from the jugs as possible. In fact currently in my collection I have few Chablis, but the two that I have that are possibly note worthy are a La Chablisience - 2003 Chablis Cuvée L.C. and one I happened to stumble across the other day a Château de Maligny - 1996 Chablis Fourchaume. The latter one I want to almost drink not becuase I am worried it may be on the downside of its peak, but some tell me that it could keep even longer.

Louis Latour Pouilly-Fuisse 2004 is a great one to start out with. You can usually find it for about $20.

CDR's response is a good one, but I don't find Pouilly Fuisse to be anywhere near as oaky as new world chards. One of my favourites is made by Catherine & Pascal Rollet, Domaine de la Chapelle. They make several different bottlings.

Anyone who has not tasted real Chablis is missing out. I personally am not a fan of oaky California chardonnay, but love a nice Chablis. The grand crus are expensive, but there are usually a lot of good deals with 1er crus. They go very well with shellfish, raw bar, etc, and are fairly refreshing as far as chards go if you want a warm weather outdoor wine. I love a good Chablis.

I love Chablis. Spend the money on Grand Crus from great years. You don't have to go broke buying Raveneau, but Jean Moreau and Picq (the former Albert Pic) produce stunning crisp wines with great minerality at affordable prices. If you find Jean Moreau's Clos des Hospices, grab it. In several vintages, I've found it the equal of some Batard-Montrachets, Chevalier-Montrachets, and Montrachets.

I tend to enjoy my Chablis on the young side FWIW.

w+a