Winemaker Notes
The Domaine du Colombier has been a family property since 1887, handed down over several generations. In 1957 Guy Mothe started to specialize in Chablis. Today his three sons Jean-Louis, Thierry and Vincent work the 55 hectares of vines. These vines are planted exclusively to Chardonnay, most of the vineyards are dedicated to the production of AC Chablis, though there are significant holdings in Premier Cru Fourchaume and Grand Cru Bourgros. This is a first-class source of pure, unoaked, mineral-laden AC Chablis.
The winemaking is carried out with great care, with the greatest of respect for the traditional Burgundian methods, allied to the advantages of modern techniques. The estate vineyards range in age from 5-50 years old. They operate very naturally and use Organic manure, rigorous tying up, de-budding and green harvest if necessary. The Domaine started to sell in bottle in the middle of the 1980’s. Today it produces 430 000 bottles of which 80% are exported.
The source of the most racy, light and tactile, yet uniquely complex Chardonnay, Chablis, while considered part of Burgundy, actually reaches far past the most northern stretch of the Côte d’Or proper. Its vineyards cover hillsides surrounding the small village of Chablis about 100 miles north of Dijon, making it actually closer to Champagne than to Burgundy. Champagne and Chablis have a unique soil type in common called Kimmeridgian, which isn’t found anywhere else in the world except southern England. A 180 million year-old geologic formation of decomposed clay and limestone, containing tiny fossilized oyster shells, spans from the Dorset village of Kimmeridge in southern England all the way down through Champagne, and to the soils of Chablis. This soil type produces wines full of structure, austerity, minerality, salinity and finesse.
Chablis Grands Crus vineyards are all located at ideal elevations and exposition on the acclaimed Kimmeridgian soil, an ancient clay-limestone soil that lends intensity and finesse to its wines. The vineyards outside of Grands Crus are Premiers Crus, and outlying from those is Petit Chablis. Chablis Grand Cru, as well as most Premier Cru Chablis, can age for many years.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.