Domaine William Fèvre

The Fèvre estate in Chablis counts 250 years of existence. In 1959 William Fèvre (1929-2019) took over the reins of the family estate, which then had 7 hectares of family vines, and gave it a new name and a new impetus; he favoured the name Domaine de la Maladière. From the late 1950s he expanded the estate by buying up parcels of Premier and Grand Cru vineyard. When the Chablis appellation had to be redefined in the 1970s, William Fèvre led the growers who defended the Kimmeridgian clay against those who argued for the outlying Portlandian limestone; the authorities decided on the expansionist route. In 1979 he built an underground cellar to house new oak barrels, and by picking late and fermenting or ageing the greater proportion of his wine in first- and second-year wood he created a style that Richard Mayson, writing in Decanter, called 'rich, fat, toasty and flattering.'

• 1959: William Fèvre took over the family estate, then 7 hectares of family vines
• From the late 1950s: parcels of Premier and Grand Cru vineyard bought up
• 1970s: William Fèvre led the growers defending the Kimmeridgian clay when the Chablis appellation was redefined
• 1979: an underground cellar built to house new oak barrels

In 1998, with his two daughters not taking over the domaine, William Fèvre sold it to the Henriot family, owners of the Champagne house Henriot, who had bought Bouchard Père et Fils in Beaune in 1995. The new owners dropped the name Domaine de la Maladière in favour of Domaine William Fèvre. In 2022 Artémis Domaines, owned by François Pinault and his family, merged its wine assets with those of the Henriot family, and William Fèvre joined the Artémis portfolio in September 2022 together with Bouchard Père et Fils, Maison Henriot and Beaux-Frères. By July 2023 Artémis had entered exclusive negotiations over the domaine with Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), and the domaine joined the DBR Lafite family in January 2024; financial details were not disclosed. It was DBR Lafite's first move into Burgundy. The group's other domaines are Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Duhart-Milon, Rieussec, Château Paradis Casseuil, Château L'Évangile, Domaine d'Aussières, Viña Los Vascos, Bodegas CARO and Domaine de Long Dai.

• 1998: sold to the Henriot family of Champagne
• September 2022: joined the Artémis Domaines portfolio through its merger with the Henriot family's wine assets
• July 2023: Artémis in exclusive negotiations with Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)
• January 2024: joined Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite), the group's first move into Burgundy

Didier Séguier is Director of Domaine William Fèvre, with François Ménin as Vineyard Manager and Pascal Reynaud as Cellar Master. Séguier arrived as winemaker in 1998, the year of the sale to Henriot, from Bouchard Père et Fils, where he had been assistant to Philippe Prost. He has been committed to environmental viticulture since 2000. Richard Mayson wrote in Decanter that Séguier was making the wines 'more expressive of their individual terroirs.' Each parcel was vinified separately from hand-picked grapes, Séguier moved to earlier picking to keep more characteristic acidity, and the share of new oak was reduced from around 20% to 5%.

• Didier Séguier: Director; arrived as winemaker in 1998 from Bouchard Père et Fils
• François Ménin: Vineyard Manager
• Pascal Reynaud: Cellar Master

The domaine covers 70 hectares or 90 separate plots in the heart of the Chablis vineyards and is the largest owner of Grands Crus in Chablis. In 2023 its holdings included 15.2 hectares classified Grand Cru and 15.9 hectares classified Premier Cru. In Les Clos, the largest of the Grands Crus, the domaine's plots cover 4.11 hectares, 16% of the appellation, on the heights of the slope; William Fèvre's father planted the vines there in the 1940s. In Bougros the domaine's plots cover 6.23 hectares, 49% of the appellation, including 2.11 hectares in Côte Bouguerots with a due south exposure at the foot of the slope. In the Premier Cru Vaulorent the domaine holds 3.63 hectares, 21.35% of the appellation. Mont de Milieu became a domaine wine with the 2010 vintage, after the domaine bought the plot. At the time of the 1999 vintage the domaine held a share of six of the seven Grands Crus, all but Blanchot, including a 0.57-hectare plot in Grenouilles and 2.55 hectares in Les Preuses.

• 70 hectares or 90 separate plots
• Les Clos: 4.11 hectares, 16% of the Grand Cru
• Bougros: 6.23 hectares, 49% of the Grand Cru, including 2.11 hectares in Côte Bouguerots
• Vaulorent: 3.63 hectares, 21.35% of the Premier Cru

The domaine began organic farming practices in 2000 on 50 hectares and has practised biodynamic viticulture since 2010 on all the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus; the majority of the vineyard is farmed biodynamically. In 2014 it was the first estate in Chablis to obtain Haute Valeur Environnementale certification, and the conversion of the entire estate to organic farming by 2025 is part of the same commitment. In the cellar the domaine uses aged, seasoned barrels instead of new ones, on average 6 years old. For the 2022 vintage, the Grand Cru Les Clos, the Grand Cru Bougros Côte Bouguerots and the Premier Cru Vaulorent were moved by gravity without pumping, pressed pneumatically for 1.5 to 2 hours and vinified in stainless steel vats; 40% of each blend spent 5 to 6 months on fine lees in French oak barrels, and ageing lasted 19 months (20 months for Les Clos), finishing in small stainless steel tanks. For the Chablis Champs Royaux 2022, 5% of the cuvée was vinified in French oak barrels averaging 6 years old, with ageing of 10 to 12 months in small stainless steel tanks.

• Organic farming practices since 2000 on 50 hectares; biodynamic viticulture since 2010 on all the Premiers Crus and Grands Crus
• First estate in Chablis to obtain Haute Valeur Environnementale certification, in 2014
• Aged, seasoned barrels instead of new ones, on average 6 years old
• 2022 Grand and Premier Cru ageing: 19 to 20 months, with 40% of the blend on fine lees in French oak for 5 to 6 months

The range runs from Petit Chablis through Chablis, Chablis Champs Royaux and Chablis Domaine to nine Premiers Crus (Beauroy, Fourchaume, Les Lys, Mont de Milieu, Montée de Tonnerre, Montmains, Vaillons, Vaulorent and Vosgros) and six Grand Cru wines: Bougros Côte Bouguerots, Bougros, Les Clos, Les Preuses, Valmur and Vaudésir. As of the 2012 vintage, the Petit Chablis was made from grapes and must bought from preferred growers and vinified entirely in tank, and Chablis Champs Royaux was a blend of domaine and purchased fruit. The domaine's tasting room in Chablis can be visited by appointment.

• Grands Crus: Bougros Côte Bouguerots, Bougros, Les Clos, Les Preuses, Valmur, Vaudésir
• Premiers Crus: Beauroy, Fourchaume, Les Lys, Mont de Milieu, Montée de Tonnerre, Montmains, Vaillons, Vaulorent, Vosgros
• Chablis Village: Chablis, Chablis Champs Royaux, Chablis Domaine; and Petit Chablis

'Our work is an ode to transparency. Here, we have chosen to make wine that lets the soil and terroir speak for themselves,' in the words of Didier Séguier. The estate describes its wines as rich, with a high aromatic purity, maintaining their typicity and revealing the particularities of each vintage. Its tasting note on the Grand Cru Les Clos 2022 reads: 'Bouquet of remarkable complexity, blending fruity, floral, and spicy notes with great minerality.'

Primary sources (the domaine's pages on the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) site, to which williamfevre.fr redirects): https://www.lafite.com/domaines/william-fevre/read/, https://www.lafite.com/domaines/william-fevre/taste/, https://www.lafite.com/domaines/william-fevre/visit/, and the group wine directory: https://winedirectory.lafite.com/en/the-wine-directory/product-WP1NNE-grand-cru-les-clos/, https://winedirectory.lafite.com/en/the-wine-directory/product-N1QWPE-grand-cru-bougros-cote-bouguerots/, https://winedirectory.lafite.com/en/the-wine-directory/product-1MNB0E-premier-cru-vaulorent/, https://winedirectory.lafite.com/en/the-wine-directory/product-RN181E-chablis-champs-royaux/. Secondary sources: Decanter (Rupert Millar, 6 July 2023; Chris Mercer, 12 January 2024; Richard Mayson, last updated 28 May 2020), Wine Spectator (Suzanne Mustacich), The Drinks Business (Sarah Neish, 12 January 2024) and Burgundy Report (27 May 2014). Last verified 2026-10-19. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.