The estate
Terroir & Vineyard

Domaine Alain GEOFFROY is situated in the Chablis vineyard : learn more about the specificities of the Chablis terroir

The Chablis vineyard

The Chablis vineyard is one of the oldest in France. It stretches from northern Burgundy through 20 villages, covering more than 5400 hectares. The terroir of Chablis consists of the following elements:

The Climate

Chablis is located in a continental zone: hot in summer and cold in winter with spectacular spring frosts.

The Topography

The Chablis vineyard is located on south/south-east and south-west slopes facing the Serein river. The average altitude is 120 to 150 meters above sea level.

The Soil

A major component of the terroir, the Chablis subsoil, consists of lime marl and oyster fossils (kimmeridgian). It is rich and porous, allowing deep rooting of the vines and even water intake.

The Grape Variety

Chablis wine is made with one single grape variety: CHARDONNAY (white grape).

Established since 1850, the Alain Geoffroy estate is a family business growing around 50 hectares of vines and producing Chablis wines that uphold the tradition and authenticity of the terroir: fresh and fruity wines with a great mineral imprint.

Today, at the Alain Geoffroy estate, we continue to take good care of our vines so that they give us not simply thirst-quenching wines but subtle and elegant Chablis. All our Chablis are produced on Kimmeridgian geological zones (Jurassic period): our wine’s aromatic richness and strong mineral content comes from this incredible potential of the soil.

Work in the wine storehouse

Climate, soil, work… even when these essential conditions are met, it always takes a little something more for a wine to become a great wine : a winemaker’s “savoir-faire”.

From the moment the grapes enter the tanks until the wine is bottled, our wine expert carefully monitors each stage. Our goal is to produce delicate and elegant wines while respecting the typicity of our unique terroir.

During the harvest, when the grapes arrive in the tanks, we immediately press them in pneumatic presses.

Once pressed, the extracted juice is put into stainless steel tanks for static sludge removal for 24 hours to eliminate the larger particles. Then, the wine will undergo alcohol fermentation and, a little later in the winter, malolactic fermentation. Finally, it will be kept in tanks over thin lees for a few months in order to bring out all the flavours and express its complexity

From this stage, we monitor the natural development of the wine to bring out its full delicacy.

After several months of storage, the wine is prepared for bottling, which is done exclusively at the estate. All our installations comply with hygiene and safety rules. Our Chablis wines are then stored in air-conditioned buildings. They are kept in corked bottles, in pallet boxes, until they are labelled and packed in our special unit.