If you are tired of oaky, high alcohol chardonnays try a glass of the 2007 Christian Moreau Chablis.

Since 1814, The Moreau name has been associated with Chablis. In 1985, the family sold its business, J.Moreau & Pere, to the liquor company Hiram Walker, and Christian Moreau remained with the new owner until the mid-1990s. He devoted the next few years to regaining the original family vineyards, with success arriving in 2002. Today, Christian Moreau is producing excellent Chablis under his own label, Christian Moreau Pere& Fils, with the winemaking skills of his son, Fabien.

Although Chablis is part of Burgundy, its northernmost position makes it closer to Champagne producers than other Burgundy vineyards, and it shares that region’s coolness and chardonnay grape. Its soil of limestone and chalk also contains shards of oyster shells from the sea that once covered this land millions of years ago. This combination of soil, climate, and grape variety produces a unique wine.

Chablis has four tiers. Petit Chablis is the base, and in ascending order are Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru, and Chablis Grand Cru.

Chardonnay is Chablis, 100 percent. But it is not the chardonnay wine of California, Australia, and Chile, nor its neighbors in the great Burgundy wine villages Meursault, Chassagne-Montrachet, Puligny-Montrachet, and Corton. In its best vintages, its soil and climate yield a wine with striking acidity, floral and green fruit aromas, and combinations of apple, lime, cilantro, and lemony flavors. The wine’s acidity allows it to age gracefully, and the Grand Crus will age for decades, gaining gentleness and flavors of nuts and refined fruit. Chablis is a boisterous wine, and I prefer mine after its childhood, normally around seven to 10 years old.

Fabien Moreau brings a modern perspective to his winemaking. A graduate of Burgundy’s famed wine school in Dijon, he worked in Bordeaux, New Zealand, and California. When possible, he employs organic farming techniques that California wineries term “sustainable” agriculture. Yet Moreau follows tradition, too, by making the 2007 Christian Moreau Chablis only in stainless steel tanks.

Unlike many New World chardonnays, your nose and palate won’t be attack with the vanilla-bean aroma and butterscotch taste from the wine being fermented or aged in new oak barrels. And because the cool climate limits the sugar content of the grapes, the wine is 12.5 to 13-percent alcohol as opposed to the 14 to 15-percent alcohol inhabiting most New World chardonnays. Its mineral, dry finish is a pleasant contrast to the sweetish finish of many chardonnays from other wine regions.

The 2007 Christian Moreau Chablis is a perfect wine for food like the spaghetti squash carbonara I had with it. And those fragmented oyster shells in the soil tell you that fresh oysters will be an ideal partner for this wine.

The 2007 Christian Moreau Chablis retails for approximately $20.

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ON THE GRAPEVINE:
The next level on Chablis pyramid is Chablis Premier Cru, and regulations permit winemakers to list the vineyard the grapes come from on the front of the label. Last week, I enjoyed the 2007Joseph Drouhin Chablis-Sechers Premier Cru. Its sage-like scent is striking, and the tasty kiwi flavor balanced with pleasant acidity. It retails for approximately $35.