🍷 Welcome to Beyond The Pour! 🍸
In this episode of France in a Glass by California Tastings, I sit down with Henrik Poulsen to taste and talk through a beautiful bottle of Chablis AOC from Chablis, in northern Burgundy.
On the nose, we notice:
Fresh green apple
Lemon zest
White blossoms
A distinct wet-stone, flinty character
On the palate, it’s crisp, clean, and incredibly focused. The acidity is bright but balanced, with flavors of citrus, pear, and a subtle saline note that really speaks to the limestone soils of Chablis. The finish is long, refreshing, and mouthwatering — it makes you want another sip right away.
We talk about how the cool climate of northern Burgundy preserves that natural acidity, and how the ancient marine fossil soils (Kimmeridgian limestone) give Chablis its signature mineral backbone.
If you have always wondered what the labels on the French wines mean, we are here to make it easy. It does need a little research as it is not like California where a lot of times the name of the grapes are on the labels. You have probably seen CHARDONNAY written on white wine bottles in stores. Well, in Chablis they mostly only grow Chardonnay grapes so if you see Chablis, you know what you will be drinking.
We must remember that so much goes into making a bottle of wine, not only how the winemaker makes it but the soil, the weather, the wine, the night time temperatures etc. This is what is so exciting to us, the fact that you can find similar grapes taste slightly different because of their location and soil type.
This series is purely made for the person who would like to pair food and wine, and get to know some regions in France. We like to nerd out so we hope you will join us too!
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📩 Got questions or suggestions? Drop them in the comments below—I’d love to hear from you!
Cheers,
Nilu Afshar