One grape
One region
One of a kind
Only from France
I have found that the best way to taste wine is in conjunction with a Masterclass. Even just a small amount of background information tends to enhance the overall experience. Already a fan of fine white wines such as Sancerre and Chablis this was a wonderful opportunity to become more acquainted with wines I enjoy and would buy to drink now. With thanks to Sean Nelson @sommwineguy sommwineguy.com for the presentation. Here is the selection.
Pascal BOUCHARD Petit Chablis, Blanc Cailloux 2025
Vineyard and terroir
100% Chardonnay
Calcareous clay soil, Portlandian subsoil
Vinification and ageing
After the grapes are pressed and the juices settled, the musts are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.
The wine is aged on fine lees for approximately 6 months in order to preserve all of its fruit and freshness.
Tasting notes
Expressive, fruity nose, exuding scents of lemon and sea air. Starts off bold and lively on the palate with a touch of minerality on the finish.
Serving
This wine may be enjoyed in its youth as an aperitif or with prawns or a seafood platter. It is also the perfect match for a local speciality – Chablis chitterling sausage.
Serve between 10 and 12°C.
Enjoy while young or cellar for up to 2 or 3 years
Maison Pascal Bouchard specializes in the production and sale of Chablis and Grand Auxerrois wines. Chablis Grand Cru, Chablis Premier Cru, Chablis, Petit Chablis, Cremant de Bourgogne, Bourgogne, Irancy, Saint Bris, Vezelay. Pascal Bouchard carefully selects the best terroirs from its partner winegrowers and vinifies them. Maison Pscal Bouchard joined Maison Albert Bichot in 2015.
Salinity and minerality on the nose that moves to the palate. Greengage plum, white peach, citrus, white grapefruit, floral and rose dust. Fresh with excellent acidity, stonefruit, parsley and a touch of spice and almond notes. Smooth with excellent body.
This wine coaxes you into tasting again and again. Loving this one, just the right body. As the wine sits hints of oak shows itself on both the nose and the palate. 5/5
$35.99
Domaine du CHARDONNAY Petit Chablis 2023
Surface area: 10.30 hectares
Production: approximately 80,000 bottles/year
Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay
Soil: clay-limestone plateau (Portlandian)
Winemaking: Controlled alcoholic fermentation,
Aged on lees in temperature-controlled tanks for 6–10 months, fined and filtered.
Tasting notes: Pale yellow color; fruity nose with notes of lemon. On the palate, the attack is lively and fresh, with intense, tangy aromas.
Pairing: Ideal as an aperitif or served with seafood.
Storage advice: Best enjoyed while young—within 1 to 2 years at most.
Serving temperature: 10–12°C
Created in 1987, the Domaine du Chardonnay is the result of a partnership between three winemakers: Etienne Boileau, William Nahan, and Christian Simon. Arnaud Nahan and Thomas Labille have been managing the estate since 2019. With vines across 38 hectares, the estate produces more than 250,000 bottles every year. Most of the wines are vinified in temperature-controlled vats, with the exception of two Chablis Premier Crus from the right bank, namely Montée de Tonnerre and Mont de Milieu, which are partially vinifed in barrels.
Heavy floral scents, hard candy, green grass, herbaceous with notes of mandarin orange, ripe peaches.
This wine takes you by surprise. It is bolder and darker in colour. Much more fruit forward than the previous wine. Less refined in the mouth with medium but lingering acidity and minerality rather than salinity. Not sweet but less fruity and less pleasant. 4/5
$38.99
Domaine MOSNIER Chablis 2024
This Chablis vintage is a blend of several Chablis vines aged 30 to 40 years.
GRAPE VARIETY: 100% Chardonnay
TERROIR: Kimmeridgian : Limestone soil, alternating layers of very compact limestone and very soft clayey marls containing fossilized marine organisms (tiny oysters, called Exogyra virgula).
VINIFICATION / AGING : Mechanical harvesting. Pneumatic pressing and gravity-fed transfer of the juice into temperature-controlled enamel or stainless steel tanks. It is then aged on its fine lees. In the spring, a light fining with bentonite is carried out solely to ensure protein stability. At the beginning of May, cold stabilization and minimal filtration take place. Bottling is completed at the end of July.
TASTING NOTES : Golden yellow color with green highlights. Pleasant nose blending white flowers and mineral freshness. Taut and saline on the palate, with pronounced aromas of lemon and white pepper. Mineral and fresh evolution. A well-balanced wine, ready to drink!
FOOD AND WINE PAIRING : Irreplaceable, simply as an aperitif, it can be enjoyed with fish or poultry in sauce, or mushroom dishes, as well as grilled fish. Our Chablis can also complement sweet and savory or spicy dishes.
Domaine Mosnier is an 18-hectare faily estate. Stéphanie joimed her father Sylvain in 2005. She has been vinifying the wines since 2007. Her father retired in 2013, and her husband joined her in 2019 to manage the sales side of the business. The estate is 3HEV (High Environmental Value Level 3) certified, and Stéphanie is a member of DEPHY group, whose aim is to limit inputs, improve agricultural practices and respect the life of the soils. When it comes to the winery, a similar philosophy prevails.
Cellar up to 4 to 6 years.
Definitely very floral with fairly subdued scents. The wine is smooth and rich more delicate than the previous Chablis. Feels drier and acidic in a different but pleasant way. Flavours of rhubarb and citrus stay in the background. Not as fruit forward as the other wines and less complex.
La CHABLISIENNE Chablis La Perrelée 2023
Expressive and Delicate
VINTAGE 2023 TASTING NOTE FROM 23/05/2025 – REF.A
Pale gold color, clear and brilliant.
The initial nose is expressive, concentrated, and fruity with light spicy notes (toast, nutmeg, vanilla).
It opens with notes of lemon and white peach.
The palate is rich and full, with a beautiful initial attack. These peach aromas resonate, and the overall wine is dynamic and juicy.
The finish is tense and mouthwatering.
This Chablis La Pierrelée will be ideal as an aperitif or with a pan-fried marinated and spiced cuttlefish grilled on the grill.
APPELLATION
Chablis
GRAPE VARIETY
Chardonnay
SOIL AND SUBSOIL
Kimmeridgian, clay-limestone
SITUATION AND EXPOSURE
All communes of the appellation. Multiple situations and aspects.
AVERAGE AGE OF VINES
20 years
VINIFICATION
Cold settling before fermentation. Both yeast and malolactic fermentations in stainless steel tanks.
MATURING
Approximately 12 months on fine lees in tanks and barrels.
Aging up to 3 to 5 years
I found this wine to be very floral with fading, but heavy, peach followed by a mix of stone fruit.
Very nice with a flavourful expressive acidity, some salinity, a bit of a bite surprisingly followed by a touch of riper fruit, citrus. The flavours were not so much to my liking to start but they improve as it sits.
This was our white wine of choice with Thanksgiving turkey and we found it paled by comparison to some of the others we were tasting here. It was lacking in terms of a pairing with the flavourful Roast turkey.
$40.99
Domaine FOURREY Chablis Premier Cru, Côte de Léchet 2023
Gilbert et Gaillard tasting notes : Pale yellow color. Vegetal and fruity nose that seems very personalized. Clean attack on the palate. A fleshy wine delivering the same convincing aromas, underlined on the finish by a touch of butter. A very good vintage.
Cellaring potential : between 2 and 5 years
Food pairing : Aperitif, shellfish, fish in sauce…
Serving temperature : 10-12°C, 50 to 53.6°F
AWARDS
MEDAILLE DOUBLE OR, 90 POINTS GILBERT & GAILLARD
MEDAILLE D’OR aux FEMINALISES
The Chablisienne cooperative cellar was created in 1923. It purchases musts on harvest to have full control over the vinification process. From almost 1,200 hectares, the coop produces all the Chablis appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis and Chablis Premier Cru (Beauty, Côte de Léchet, Vaillons, Les Lys, Montmains, Fourchaume, L’Homme Mort, Vaulorent, Montée de Tonnerre),
Very pleasant stone fruit scents, brioche, a slight touch of oak or woody, with butterscotch.
Slightly darker in colour with good body, not sweet but definitely has a presence, lots of spice, as it warms some sour notes almost a bitterness and slightly harsh. I found it had too much lemon with a bit of barnyard and a bit oaky. Quite acidic.
As the wine is left to lose it’s chill slightly it shows good depth. It would make a good pairing wine because it doesn’t compete for your attention. Although not for me I could learn to like this wine. That’s a good thing because it was hubby’s favourite.
$45.98 Everything Wine
Charly NICOLLE Chablis Premier Cru, Les Fournéaux 2022
Wine description
Wine name: Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourneaux
Appellation: AOC Chablis Premier Cru
Production region: Bourgogne, France
Colour: White
Grape variety: Chardonnay
Maturation
Containers:
Stainless steel vats
(from 25 to 100 hectolitres)
Maturation on lees: Yes
Maturation period: 12 months
Vineyard
Vine location: A place called “Morein, la Cote and Pregirot” in Fleys
Surface: 6 hectares
Production: 50 hectolitres per hectare
Soil: Clay and limestone on underlying kimmeridgian
Vine density:
8,300 vinestocks per hectare
Average vine age:
Between 50 and 60 years old
Fining/Filtration
Fining: Clay
Filtration: Tangential
Cooling: Yes
Fermentation
Fermentation period: Approximately 25 days
Yeast: Natural
Temperature control: Between 16 and 18°C
Malolactic fermentation: 100%
Bacteria: Natural
Tasting
Its hue is a lovely straw yellow. Its nose is an intoxicating floral bouquet with notes of almonds and honey and filled with ripe fruit aromas. Tasting is a festival of flavour… tender and abundant.
Its character, well-balanced with definite sweetness, was forged respecting the terroir and climate.
Serving temperature: 12°C
Aging: Between 5 and 7 years
Wine analysis
Alc/Vol: 12.5 %
Acidity: 4.3 g/l H2SO4
Residual Sugar: 0.40
This wine is darker in colour. Scents are floral with nuts, almond and a depth of honey.
Rather rich, more body, smooth with less acidity but good minerality and quite a lot of salinity notes. I prefer this one over two others recently tasted. As it sits it is fairly nice and becomes quite mellow and improves.
$39.99 Vessel
Domain created in 2002 by Charly NICOLLE, from a double lineage of winegrowers (Laroche and Nicolle families). With plots all located on the right bank of the Serein (Flyes, Chichée, Béru, Fyé), the domaine has gown from 4 ha at its inception tonearly twenty hectares today.
Domaine Christian MOREAU et Fils Chablis Grand Cru, Valmur 2023
Little valley between two other grands crus (Les Clos and Vaudesir), Valmur is definitely a terroir mainly composed of clays.
Our two parcels benefits from two exposures : 70 ares south-east and 30 ares north-east (1 ha in total).
Aging: between 10 to 15 years
Opening with a floral perfume. Medium body although initially subtle opens up to a flavourful note. Quite a bit of acidity with pepper, spice and a touch of oak. Nice body, fairly light and simple. Very nice sipper but pricey. My second choice.
$129.99
This family-owned estate, located in the heart of Chablis at the foot of the Chablis Grand Cru vineyards, aims to carry on a tradition spanning six generations while repecting this terroir, which in unique in the world. Since 2001, Fabien Moreau has been in charge of the vineyard and the estate, which has been certified organic by Ecocet since the 2013 vintage.
All of the wines featured here are available at select BC Liquor Stores. Due to the constantly changing inventory some of these wines may not be on the BCL website.
@vinsdechablis @hopscotchcanada
@melinafiliatreault facilitator
Wine notes and “about” the wineries courtesy of each winery. My notes (in italics). Images: MyVanCity. The Masterclass and tasting were complimentary for two of us. Held at the Parkside Hotel in Victoria and included an assortment of cheeses and charcuterie to enjoy following the tasting.
