Domaine William Fèvre
For decades, William Fevre fought to defend the right to use the name ‘Chablis’ at a time when the word ‘Chablis’ was being printed on the labels of simple white wines from California and Spain that bore no relation whatsoever to the region. Behind this campaign stands one of the appellation’s greatest wine-producing estates, which owns the largest portfolio of ‘Grand Cru’ vineyards in Chablis, as well as plots in various ‘Premier Cru’ vineyards.
Didier Séguier has been running this winery for over 20 years, and his hallmark is restraint. All grapes are harvested by hand, new oak barrels are never used, and bottling takes place before the end of the vintage year. Since the founder stepped down, ownership has changed hands more than once, most recently being acquired by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite.
From seven hectares to the Rothschilds
William Fèvre began with seven hectares and spent four decades adding to them. He started at the end of the 1950's and by the time he retired he had built the holding up to 48 hectares, much of it planted in premier and grand cru land that had fallen by the wayside and that nobody else was rushing to replant.
Fèvre also liked new oak, and that was never to everybody's taste. It is the one part of his legacy the domaine later moved away from.
In 1998, with his two daughters uninterested in the wine business, Fèvre sold to Joseph Henriot for a reported eight million dollars. Henriot brought in Didier Séguier, who had been part of the Bouchard team in Beaune, and the house style shifted.
Then came a fast few years. Artémis Domaines, the Pinault family company behind Château Latour, bought a majority stake in Maisons & Domaines Henriot and began spinning pieces of it off, Domaine William Fèvre among them. In July 2023 the sale to Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite was announced, the Lafite group's first property in Burgundy and only its second French winery outside Bordeaux.
Séguier was expected to remain in post. Antoine Granger, on the commercial side at William Fèvre, moved the other way, joining the DBR parent company as International Commercial Director of its domaines and châteaux at the end of 2023.
Ninety parcels on the right slopes
Domaine William Fèvre cultivates approximately 70 hectares of vineyards in the Chablis region, which are divided into roughly 90 individual plots. Of these, approximately 12 hectares are Premier Cru and approximately 16 hectares are Grand Cru, representing a significant number of classified vineyards for a single winery within this appellation.
The vineyards located on the Grand Cru hillsides are as follows:
- Bougros: 4.12 hectares, plus an additional 2.11 hectares located in the Côte des Bougerots section
- Les Clos: 4.11 hectares
- Preuses: just over 2.5 hectares
- Valmur and Vaudésir, each just over 1 hectare
The list of Premier Cru vineyards is more extensive and scattered: 3.63 hectares in Fourchaume (which includes the Vaulorent parcel), 3.50 hectares in Montmains, and 3.16 hectares in Vaillons; Montée de Tonnerre covers 2.24 hectares, and there are other smaller plots such as Beauroy, Les Lys, and Mont de Milieu, among which Mont de Milieu is just over 0.5 hectares.
The winery began gradually adopting organic farming methods in 2006 and has since incorporated some biodynamic practices as well. Certification was not sought until recently and is expected to be completed by 2024. Many wineries follow the exact opposite sequence.
One grape variety
Chablis is nothing but Chardonnay, and this is the only variety planted in all the vineyards cultivated by Domaine William Fèvre, from village vineyards to Grand Cru slopes. The differences between each bottled wine stem not from the blend, but from the vineyard's location, the age of the vines, and the winemaking process.
Oak, but none of it new
At Domaine William Fèvre, all grapes, including those for the straight village Chablis, are harvested by hand. Grand Cru grapes are brought in small caisses (shallow crates designed to prevent the grapes from being crushed by their own weight), and at the winery's sorting table, grapes that should not go into the press are removed.
The use of oak barrels is careful and restrained. Between 40% and 50% of Premier Cru wines and 70% to 80% of Grand Cru wines are aged in oak barrels, none of which are new. The domaine consistently uses one-year-old oak barrels sourced from Maison Bouchard, and the average age of the barrels stored in the cellar is approximately five years.
Wines aged in oak barrels and tanks are blended together after 4 to 6 months, and bottling takes place before the end of the year. The short aging period, the avoidance of new oak, and the refusal to try to make Chablis resemble Beaune, given the style for which the founder was well-known, represent a notable shift.
The wines
Grand Cru is the category where Domaine William Fèvre truly stands out: These include Bougros, as well as Bougros Côte Bouguerots, Les Preuses, Vaudésir, Valmur, and Les Clos, all produced on the steep grand cru slopes and bottled separately.
The Premier Cru wines covers a wide area. Vaillons and Montée de Tonnerre are well-known names; Vaulorent and Fourchaume are produced on the same hillside, and wines are also bottled from Montmains, Beauroy, Les Lys, and Mont de Milieu.
The foundation for all these wines is the village-level Chablis, which, like all the other wines, is harvested by hand. In addition to the domaine's wines, there is a négociant lineup made from grapes purchased from outside sources, which includes Petit Chablis, the Premier Crus Mont de Milieu and Côte de Léchet, and the Grand Crus Grenouilles and Blanchots. The specific cuvées released vary from year to year.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Domaine William Fèvre?
Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, the group behind Château Lafite Rothschild, which bought the Chablis house from Artémis Domaines in a deal announced in July 2023.
Are all the wines made from the estate's own vines?
No. The domaine wines come from its own parcels, and a separate négociant range is made from purchased grapes, including Petit Chablis and the grands crus Grenouilles and Blanchots.
Does Domaine William Fèvre use new oak?
Not any more. Part of each premier and grand cru is raised in barrel, but the wood is at least a year old and averages around five years in the cellar.
Who makes the wine?
Didier Séguier, who arrived after the 1998 sale to Joseph Henriot and stayed on through the later ownership changes.
