Five Chablis producers every sommelier should know

Chablis is on almost every wine list in the world, which is exactly why the producer matters. The same word on a label can mean a thin, forgettable white or a Chardonnay that collectors wait years to open. These are the five names I would teach any new sommelier first, and why.

The short answer: Raveneau and Dauvissat are the rare, age-worthy benchmarks. William Fèvre is the big Grand Cru owner you can actually find. Louis Michel shows pure Chablis with no oak at all. Patrick Piuze buys grapes from many growers and bottles the differences between sites.

Chablis in one minute

• Where: northern Burgundy, around the town of Chablis on the little river Serein, well north of the Côte d'Or.
• Grape: Chardonnay, and only Chardonnay.
• Four appellations: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru (40 named climats) and Chablis Grand Cru.
• Seven Grand Crus, all on one slope on the right bank of the Serein: Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir. The Grand Cru appellation dates from 1938.
• Soil: Kimmeridgian marl and limestone, about 150 million years old and full of tiny fossil oysters (Exogyra virgula). Petit Chablis grows mostly on the younger Portlandian limestone on the plateaus.

1. Domaine François Raveneau

Founded in 1948 by François Raveneau and still run by his family. Tiny quantities, hard to find, and a name collectors chase. The wines are built to age, and young Raveneau can seem shy before it opens up.

• Grand Crus: Blanchot, Les Clos, Valmur.
• Premier Crus include: Montée de Tonnerre, Butteaux, Chapelot, Vaillons, Montmains and Forêts.
• Why it matters: it is the reference point for what Chablis can become with time.

2. Domaine René et Vincent Dauvissat

Three generations, father to son: Robert, René, then Vincent, who began working with his father in the 1970s and runs the domaine today. Dauvissat and Raveneau are often spoken of in the same breath, and both age their wines in older barrels rather than new oak, so the wood shapes texture, not flavour.

• Grand Crus: Les Clos, Les Preuses.
• Premier Crus: La Forest, Séchet, Vaillons.
• Why it matters: precise, mineral wines that show how much a single slope changes Chardonnay.

3. Domaine William Fèvre

William Fèvre made his first vintage in 1959. Today the domaine farms about 70 hectares, with 15.2 hectares of Grand Cru and 15.9 of Premier Cru, which makes it one of the big Grand Cru owners in Chablis. Part of each harvest spends a few months in French oak, with no new barrels. In January 2024 it joined Domaines Barons de Rothschild, the owners of Château Lafite.

• Grand Crus include: Les Clos, Bougros (with its steep Côte de Bouguerots plot), Preuses, Vaudésir and Valmur.
• Why it matters: you can taste several Grand Crus side by side from one producer, which is a brilliant Chablis lesson.

4. Domaine Louis Michel & Fils

A family in Chablis since the 19th century, and the purist's choice: every wine is made in stainless steel, with no oak at all. Native yeasts, a spontaneous malolactic fermentation and 18 to 20 months of ageing for the top wines.

• Grand Crus: Grenouilles (which the family calls the smallest Grand Cru), Les Clos and Vaudésir.
• Premier Crus include: Montée de Tonnerre, Vaulorent (an enclave of Fourchaume), Séchets, Vaillons, Butteaux, Forêts and Montmain.
• Why it matters: proof that great Chablis needs no oak. Use it to teach what the soil tastes like.

5. Patrick Piuze

Born in Québec, Patrick Piuze learned in Burgundy at Olivier Leflaive, Verget and Jean-Marc Brocard, then started his own business in 2008. He owns no vines: he buys grapes from growers he works with closely. His speciality is bottling several village-level Chablis separately, site by site.

• Why it matters: the modern view of Chablis. Even at village level, the hillside, the exposure and the soil change the wine.

More names worth knowing

How to choose a bottle

• Petit Chablis: the lightest and simplest. Drink it young, as an aperitif.
• Chablis: the classic. Look for the producers above to get the real thing.
• Premier Cru: the sweet spot for value. Montée de Tonnerre and Fourchaume sit on the Grand Crus' side of the river; Vaillons, Montmains and Forêts on the other bank.
• Grand Cru: for the cellar and for a special dinner. Give it time and a little air. Louis Michel suggests serving its Grand Crus at 12–14°C, warmer than most whites.

Chablis with food

• Oysters and shellfish: the classic match, and it works.
• Gougères, the Burgundian cheese puffs, with a glass before dinner.
• White fish with butter sauces, and chicken in cream with a Premier or Grand Cru.

Want the whole of Burgundy around these names? Read my Burgundy study guide, or the story of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. For another great French white, see the best Sancerre producers.

How to say the names

Questions people ask