"Today's Fevre wines rank with those of Raveneau and Vincent Dauvissat among the best of the region, and on my latest trip numerous growers commented on the positive example being set by the Fevre team's labor-intensive work in the vines."
Stephen Tanzer
International Wine Cellar, July/August 2003

Chardonnay can test even the most experienced vineyard manager and winemaker. Nevertheless, the former chairmen of Louis Vuitton-Moet-Hennessey purchased Domaine William Fevre, where the only varietal cultivated is Chardonnay - a varietal whose propensity to bud early exposes it spring frosts, a delicate varietal that often suffers rain and rot, a varietal whose delicate flavors are often ill-suited for even a kiss of new oak, and whose yields must be rigorously restricted if it is to display any concentration of flavor. Fine Chardonnay is a labor of love that involves risk and a steel resolve. No matter. "I like to work in the real world and in luxury products," says Joseph Henriot, the proprietor of Domain William Fevre.

Excellent terroir, however, reduces the risk involved-a fact not lost upon Henriot; besides, the estate itself - comprised of some 50 hectares-boasts of 16 hectares of Premiers Crus and 16.3 hectares of Grand Crus. Moreover, decades ago the former proprietor of the Domaine itself designed what is now known as chaufferettes-portable cauldrons deployed in the vineyards so as to safeguard against any frost that might threaten budburst. Moreover, Didier Seguier (the current vigneron of Fevre), rigorously restricts his yields-more than most, not only to encourage the ripening of clusters but also to capture those telltale notes of gunlflint and wet stones. And ripe clusters of Chardonnay - often hand harvested a touch earlier than most at Fevre so as to retain the telltale acidity that helps to define Chablis - eliminate the need for the mask that small new oak barrels often play. Besides, Didier Seguier, the new vigneron of Domaine William Fevre, is quick to add, "Foudres are very good at preserving freshness and minerality."

The clusters arrive at the cellar in 14 kilogram containers; as small as they are, they minimize the risk of clusters crushing each other and undergoing a premature fermentation before being sorted on the table de trie. From there they flow via gravity into one of eighty vats-each specifically sized and designed to accommodate one of the eighty parcels that comprise the entire estate. Here they are lightly pressed so as to safeguard against a violent crushing and the ensuing risk of crushed seeds and stems that would impart off-putting green notes. After debourbage, Seguier will then choose whether each of the eighty parcels should undergo fermentation in steel or in wood.

Steel is certainly the safer choice - it is easier to monitor the temperature and maintain the cleanliness of steel vats; cool temperatures retain the subtle nuances that might boil off with higher temperatures, and clean vats minimize the risk of troubled fermentations. Yet the advantages afforded by barrel fermentation outweigh the costs. Not only do they retain floral-inflected fruit and complexities of flavor earned in the vineyards. Moreover, barrel fermentation encourages the formation of polysaccharides, which impart an added richness and length onto the finished wine. Moreover, batonnage (or the stirring of the fine lees, which is inevitably involved in barrel fermentation) imparts not only further richness but also induces malolactic fermentation, which itself adds further complexity and nuance. And the sheer number of barrels involved - each barrel a unique system, yielding its own subtle yet distinct flavors and textures - provides a palette of flavors and textures for an assemblage almost unmatched by wine fermented in one or even a small number of vats..

To be sure, Seguier deploys battonage sparingly and with a deft touch, "tres, tres leger - just to give body but not enough to denature the flavors."   

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