France · Chablis

SCEV Domaine Du Chardonnay

A 34.5-hectare Chablis estate, Domaine du Chardonnay grows and vinifies its own Chardonnay across Petit Chablis, Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru.

The producer

Domaine du Chardonnay began in 1987 as a mixed farm of vines and cereals. By 1992, its founders had left cereal cultivation behind to focus on Chardonnay, adding frost-protection equipment before investing in a vat room and mechanical presses that allowed the full harvest to be vinified at the estate. Today, Arnaud Nahan—son of co-founder William Nahan—and Thomas Labille manage 34.5 hectares in Chablis.

The range follows Chablis’s appellation ladder, from tank-aged Petit Chablis to Chablis, Premier Cru and Grand Cru. Estate-grown fruit is vinified and aged in the domaine’s own cellars. The central Chablis offers the clearest starting point: 100% Chardonnay with fruit, lively acidity and mineral structure leading into a dry finish.

Known for

Estate-grown, estate-vinified Chardonnay across the Chablis appellation hierarchy.

Notable facts

The story

When the cereals left the farm

Five years after Etienne Boileau, Christian Simon and William Nahan created Domaine du Chardonnay, the partners stopped cultivating cereals. In 1992, the farm’s 80 hectares of grain gave way to a full concentration on vines, and frost-protection and heating systems were installed as part of the change. The following year, the partners added a complete vat room and mechanical presses. The domaine had already expanded its vineyard and was making Petit Chablis, Chablis and five Chablis Premiers Crus; after the cellar work, the entire harvest could be vinified at the estate.

From the atlas

SCEV Domaine Du Chardonnay

At A Glance

SCEV Domaine Du Chardonnay is a Chablis estate in Bourgogne, founded on 30 June 1987 by Etienne Boileau, Christian Simon and William Nahan. It now farms 34.5 hectares, works only with its own harvest in its cellars, and covers Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru.

The estate moved from mixed farming to vines alone in 1992, then brought all vinification on site after winery investment in 1993. Arnaud Nahan, William Nahan’s son, and Thomas Labille have managed the domaine since 2019; the estate also holds HVE 3 and EVE VEGAN certification.

The Producer

Domaine du Chardonnay began with three partners, 11 hectares of vines—nine already producing wine—and 80 hectares of cereals. The estate’s present scale, 34.5 hectares, is the result of choosing Chablis viticulture as its sole work; fruit grown by the domaine is vinified and aged in its own cellars, keeping the bottle tied to one estate rather than bought-in wine.

Arnaud Nahan and Thomas Labille took over after the founding partners retired in 2019. The family link is concrete: Arnaud is the son of founder William Nahan. Their work continues a domaine built around Chardonnay and Chablis’s appellation ladder, from the more immediate Petit Chablis bottlings to wines labelled Premier Cru and Grand Cru.

Place

The domaine is in Chablis, the northern Bourgogne appellation where Chardonnay is the central grape. Its range moves through four formal levels: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. Those words on a label do more than signal price: they place a bottle within a hierarchy that runs from broad regional expression to more narrowly named vineyard categories.

The estate had already reached Petit Chablis, Chablis and five Chablis Premiers Crus by 1988, when its vineyard doubled. That early spread matters in the glass because the domaine can show Chardonnay at several levels of designation rather than relying on one bottling style.

Soil And Site

The supplied record does not name individual soils, slopes or exposures for this domaine. It does record a practical site pressure: in 1992, the partners installed frost-protection and heating systems as they concentrated on vines. Frost can damage the developing crop, so this equipment was part of securing fruit for the Chablis range rather than a decorative estate investment.

That physical response remains more useful than borrowed regional shorthand. The site fact here is a working vineyard exposed enough to require protection, with the consequence that the domaine committed machinery and attention to preserving its Chardonnay harvest.

Story

The estate’s first years trace a clear change in use of the land. In 1987, vines occupied 11 hectares alongside 80 hectares of cereals; in 1988, the vineyard doubled and the range included Petit Chablis, Chablis and five Premier Crus. By 1992, cereals had gone and viticulture had become the sole focus, narrowing the farm’s work onto Chardonnay and the Chablis appellations.

The next decision put the cellar alongside the vineyard. Winery investment in 1993 allowed the complete harvest to be vinified at the domaine, so grapes no longer needed to leave the estate for that stage of their journey. The 2019 handover to Nahan and Labille followed a similar line of continuity: the current team inherited an estate whose fruit, fermentation and ageing are held together in one place.

Vineyards And Cellar

The current 34.5-hectare holding supplies the fruit, and the domaine states that it vinifies and ages only its own harvest. This does not make every bottle taste the same; it means that the differences between Petit Chablis, Chablis and the more specifically designated wines begin with fruit the estate has grown itself.

The 1993 investment included mechanical presses and a complete vat room. Pressing is the first major cellar step for white wine, shaping the juice that will later become a dry Chardonnay; bringing that work on site gave the domaine control of the harvest from grape reception through ageing. At the Petit Chablis end, tank ageing keeps the focus on fruit and freshness rather than overt oak flavour.

Wines

The range is built as a climb through Chablis labels. Petit Chablis is the youthful, tank-aged end: a useful place to look for direct fruit, light body and brisk acidity. Chablis sits at the centre, while Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru take the range into more specifically designated territory, where a bottle carries a narrower appellation name.

The domaine also identifies parcel selections including Paradis. A parcel name makes the origin more particular than a general Chablis label, while the wider range lets the same estate show Chardonnay with differing weight, mineral character and length of finish. The historical record of five Premier Crus confirms that these upper levels have been part of the domaine’s work since its early expansion.

In The Glass

A published assessment of the 2022 Chablis describes acidity, fruit and mineral structure. Read in sequence, that points to fruit arriving first, then a firmer, dry palate shape, with acidity carrying the wine into a mineral finish rather than leaving it broad or sweet.

This is Chardonnay without a need for heavy oak character. The estate’s central Chablis bottling is the place to look for fruit and mineral notes held by acidity; the range above and below it then changes the label category and expected weight, rather than abandoning the grape’s core profile.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Domaine du Chardonnay Chablis 2022. It is the estate’s central Chablis expression, and its published tasting profile supplies the clearest sensory picture: fruit on the nose and palate, lively acidity through the middle, mineral structure and a dry finish. Those elements make a useful contrast with richer, oak-led Chardonnay styles.

This bottle comes before the Premier Cru or Grand Cru labels because it sits at the range’s centre, between youthful Petit Chablis and more narrowly designated wines. It lets the estate’s own Chardonnay fruit, on-site vinification and Chablis character meet in one glass without requiring a parcel-level choice.

Anecdote

Five years after Etienne Boileau, Christian Simon and William Nahan created the domaine, the partners stopped cultivating cereals. In 1992, the farm’s 80 hectares of grain gave way to a full concentration on vines, and they installed frost-protection and heating systems in the same move. The following year, they invested in a complete vat room and mechanical presses. Until then, the domaine had been building its Chablis range while still operating as a mixed farm; after the works, its entire harvest could be vinified at the estate. The change happened in two practical stages—first the land was committed to viticulture, then the cellar was equipped to handle every grape grown there.

Final Word

Domaine du Chardonnay offers Chablis as an estate-grown range: Chardonnay from 34.5 hectares, worked through several appellation levels and vinified on site. Begin with its Chablis, then move outward through the labels as the appetite for more weight, mineral detail and longer finish grows.

Sources

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