Chablis Wine Route (Route des Grands Crus)

The wine road around Chablis is short, quiet and easy to understand: a small town on the Serein river, and a ring of limestone hillsides covered in Chardonnay. This is the northernmost part of Burgundy, closer to Champagne than to the Côte d'Or, and the climate is cool enough that the wines have a tight, mineral edge quite unlike the richer whites farther south. The signposted route, known as the Route des Grands Crus, links the town with the villages and slopes around it, and it is well suited to a slow day by car, bicycle or on foot.

The soil is the story. The vines grow on Kimmeridgian limestone and clay, a seabed from the Jurassic period packed with tiny fossil oyster shells, which growers credit for the flinty, saline character of the wine. Four levels of appellation are produced here: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. The seven grand cru climats, Blanchot, Bougros, Les Clos, Grenouilles, Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir, all lie together on a single steep slope facing the town across the river, while premiers crus spread over the hills on both banks. Standing across the Serein you can see that hillside in one glance.

The town of Chablis is compact and rewards a stop on the way in or out. The old stone streets, the covered market-style buildings and the Collégiale Saint-Martin give a feel for a place that has lived off wine for centuries, and the Porte Noël is one of the surviving gateways. Many producers are in or just outside town, from big names such as Domaine William Fèvre to small family houses, and tastings are common, though reserving a visit ahead is wise, particularly in harvest season and at weekends. Some estates are organic or biodynamic.

A few miles away stands Pontigny Abbey, a large Cistercian church founded in the early twelfth century. Its austere interior shows what the order meant by plainness, and it makes a thoughtful counterpoint to the tasting rooms. Between visits, the Serein River Walks give a gentler way into the landscape for those who want fields, willows and water.

The route works best slowly. Pick a few vineyards, keep the driving short, pair the wine with local gougères and andouillette if you eat such things, and let the hillside do the explaining. It suits food and wine lovers, cyclists, and anyone curious about why a single grape can taste so different from one slope to the next.