Precision, Team Spirit and the New Signature of La Chablisienne

Part 1 of the trilogy: “From the poetry of terroir to the science of experimentation” – Three women talk about how they are rethinking wine, reimagining it, and composing it for the future.

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From her passion for gastronomy to “White Winemaker of the Year” – how a young oenologist is shaping Chablis’ largest cooperative winery.

Chablis. When you meet Estelle Roy, you sense immediately that she works with clarity and heartfelt passion. Born in Belfort, she grew up in a family immersed in gastronomy, where food culture and the pairing of dishes and wines were part of daily life. Early on, she discovered that pleasure is always a dialogue – between flavors, wines, and people. That discovery became the driving force of her professional career.

After obtaining her National Diploma of Oenology (DNO) in Dijon in 2012, Estelle deliberately sought diversity: Alsace, Beaujolais, Burgundy. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Muscat, Pinot Gris – each grape variety, each region was a new school of precision. In 2014 she settled in Burgundy, at Marsannay, where she trained as cellar master in a renowned estate. Five years of experience with red grape varieties laid the foundation for her next decisive step: Chablis.

In 2019, Estelle joined La Chablisienne – the most important cooperative of the appellation, uniting around 300 winegrowing families and producing roughly a quarter of Chablis’ total output. At her side stood Vincent Bartement, three-time “White Winemaker of the Year.” Roy found in him not only a mentor, but also a partner who shared her uncompromising view of quality: taking each terroir seriously, giving each vintage a soul and character of its own.

For four years they worked shoulder to shoulder before Estelle assumed leadership of the oenology team in May 2023. “It was a natural step,” she says – and yet one of great significance. La Chablisienne is not just a winery, it is a living organism: hundreds of families delivering grapes, hundreds of lots to be orchestrated. Roy’s mission: to transform this diversity into a clear, recognizable signature.

Her philosophy is simple: balance and harmony. As she puts it: “The vinification is the magical moment of the transformation of grapes into wine. For me, it is very important to combine respect for traditions with the constant search for improvement and quality. Wine is like art: it recalls different flavours, different textures and you feel different emotions when you taste it. The most important for me is to share emotions.”

In times of climate change, she relies on earlier harvest dates, differentiated fermentations, and above all the confidence in Chablis’ Kimmeridgian soils, whose saline tension gives the wines their backbone. Precise vinification in stainless steel, selective use of oak where it brings structure and length, meticulous work with lees – always in service of transparency, never as an end in itself. “A Chablis must never feel disguised,” is her credo.

That her approach works became clear in 2024: At the International Wine Challenge, La Chablisienne collected 18 medals and three Chablis trophies. Estelle Roy herself was named “White Winemaker of the Year” – the first woman from Chablis to do so. “Winning the title of Best White Winemaker at the IWC is a moment of immense pride for us. It reflects the dedication, teamwork, and passion of our 200 families at La Chablisienne, all working together to uphold the legacy of our terroirs.” Her words reveal her self-understanding: the award is not hers alone, but belongs to the whole collective.

Privately, Estelle Roy remains deeply rooted in the land – her husband is a winegrower, and conversations about vines, soils, and vintages are part of everyday life. Perhaps it is precisely this double anchoring – in family and profession – that enables her to rethink Chablis today: as an origin that demands clarity, and as a future that requires leadership.

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Photo Credit: Estelle Roy, La Chablisienne