Poor Chablis! One of France's and the world's greatest wine regions reduced to an order for a generic quaff in a neighborhood restaurant.

The problem is that most Americans, influenced by decades of white wine from California or New York, called "chablis" - remember Gallo's confidently redundant "Chablis Blanc"? - don't know that the name signifies a place and a type of wine made exclusively from chardonnay grapes. California "chablis" was likely to be a blend of the cheapest and blandest grapes available.

Perhaps the situation is better now than it was in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, and one might be hard-pressed to find jugs of "chablis" on retail shelves, but outside of the coastal markets, true chablis wines are a tough sell in America.

Chablis is nominally part of Burgundy, though it's closer to Champagne, 20 miles to the north, than to Burgundy, 60 miles to the southeast across the Morvan hills. The only grape allowed in Chablis is chardonnay, the same grape from which Burgundy's white wines are made. Variations in climate and soil composition, however, make significant differences in the wines of the great Burgundian vineyards and those of Chablis.

Chablis suffers from harsh winters and the possibility of damaging frosts, even as late as May. As is the case in northern vineyards regions, such as Champagne, Alsace and Germany's Rhine and Mosel regions, grape acidity tends to be higher than it is in warmer climates, while low temperatures in late summer and early autumn can mean that grapes don't ripen sufficiently. Southeast exposure is all-important.

The bedrock of Chablis, in both senses of the word, lies in its limestone and clay Kimmeridgean soil, the main feature of which is an infinitesimal multitude of tiny fossilized oyster shells. This soil gives the best wines of Chablis their characteristic scintillating steely, earthy quality, what the French call gout de pierre a fusil, meaning gunflint.

As in Burgundy, the vineyards of Chablis are, by law, hierarchical, beginning with the common Chablis designation and rising through Petit Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Chablis Grand Cru. As in Burgundy, again, vineyards are divided among many owners and proprietors; sharing prominence on a label of Chablis Premier or Grand Cru will be the name of the vineyard.

Oak and steel form the poles of winemaking philosophy in Chablis. Whereas potentially great chardonnay wines, as produced in Burgundy, parts of California and Oregon and Australia, are without question either fermented or aged (or both) in oak barrels, such a procedure is not automatic in Chablis. Instead, many wines are fermented in concrete or steel vats and aged in stainless steel to retain the heady mineral qualities and racy acidity the effect of which the Chablisiennes call nervosite - akin to nervous energy. On the other hand, some producers, especially since the late 1980s and early '90s, have been experimenting with oak aging, particularly for Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines, seeking to add firmness and creaminess to their wines' structure. Purists might say that such wines are not authentic to Chablis, but as we shall see today, tasting examples from three well-placed producers that come from both camps, sensibly and sensitively applied oak can give chardonnay a terrific boost.

Take these two products from the house of William Fevre, owned since 1998 by Champagne Henriot, which also owns Domaine Bouchard Pere et fils in Burgundy. The philosophy here is to age Grand Cru wines 10 to 14 months in French oak on the assumption that the quality of the grapes can absorb that much wood, and the Premier Cru wines six to 12 months in a combination of stainless steel and oak.

Fevre's Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume 1999, not an estate wine, offers seamless elements of smoke and ash, clean earth and mushrooms, lemon-lime and limestone in a texture and structure of incredible presence. It could age three to five years. Excellent. About $40. The Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 1998, Domaine William Fevre, seems absolutely pure and classic in every respect. It's like drinking liquid limestone infused with the lusciousness of orange blossoms and lemon-lime flavors, while dancing acid makes it dazzle. Four to six years. Exceptional. About $57.

Mirroring standard practice, that some producers age village wines in stainless steel, Domaine Laroche keeps its Chablis "Saint Martin" 2000 fresh, crisp and clean and heaped with limestone and flint, though it hints of mushroom and cloves and its touches of citrus, quince and orange blossom lend complexity and loveliness. Excellent. About $25.

Laroche applies various combinations of oak and stainless steel to these Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines:

The Chablis Premer Cru "Les Vaudevey" 1999, Domaine Leroche, challenges the thesaurus. Absolutely wonderful, was my first note, followed by profoundly stony, deeply earthy, marvelously substantial; very powerful lemon-lime-limestone qualities flaunt orange blossom and honeysuckle along a line of crisp acid. Excellent. About $40. Leroche's Chablis Premier Cru "Les Vaillons Vieilles Vignes" 1998 resonates with power and depth. It's a huge wine, very ripe and earthy, vibrant with limestone and flint, shimmering with acid and luscious with lemon-lime flavors touched with pineapples and mushrooms. Excellent. About $46.

More subdued and reticent, the Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" 1998, Domaine Leroche, is a completely integrated, sublimely well-knit wine. Its mineral foundations effortlessly support fathoms of rich, slightly buttery citrus flavors. Exceptional. About $107. Leroche's blockbuster is the Chablis Grand Cru "Reserve de L'Obedience" 1998, made from the best selection of the Grand Cru "Les Blanchots" vineyard. Almost ridiculously substantial, this wine will need six to 10 years - if it comes around at all. A big "Hmmm." About $150.

By contrast, these examples from Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard are aged completely in stainless steel. They are intense, high-toned and steely wines:

The Chablis "Vieilles Vignes" 1998, a village wine made from 60-year-old vines, is clean, fresh and earthy, elegant and a bit austere until the winsome floral elements emerge. Excellent. About $25. Brocard's Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" 1998 is almost too austere for its own good until the earthy and stony elements begin to give way to hints of almond blossom and moderately rich lemon-lime flavors. Very good+. About $50. Finally, the Chablis Grand Cru "Les Clos" 1999, Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, leavens its minerally sternness and size with an almost voluptuous texture and rich citrus flavors. Excellent. About $75.

Picks of the week

Now: If you're having simple fare - burgers, pizza, beef fajitas - you won't go wrong with the Delicato Shiraz 2000, California, a ripe, smoky and fleshy little wine, bright with vivid blackberry and currant flavors touched with authentic elements of black pepper and brambles. About $8.

Later: It takes big wines to absorb this much oak and retain balance, but the Burgundian house of Louis Latour, founded in 1797, manages the feat deftly with two of its most famous wines. Latour's Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 1999, made from chardonnay grapes and aged 12 months in new oak barrels, offers tremendous depth and presence. It could age three to six years. About $90.

Its pinot noir cousin, Latour's Chateau Corton Grancey Grand Cru 1999, is aged 18 months in oak. This classic, elegant Burgundian pinot is very ripe and spicy, deeply imbued with succulent plum and black cherry fruit and blessed with terrific substance and grip, dictating four to eight years' aging, though it's delicious now. About $75.

Spirits: The venerable firm of Frapin owns a huge 741-acre domain in Cognac, including 500 acres in Grande Champagne, the best vineyard area in the region. Undergoing natural fermentation, untouched by sulfites and bottled unfiltered, these cognacs are richly flavored and earthy.

Here's a quick rundown of Frapin's products: VS Luxe Grande Champagne, like sniffing heartwood, pine, moss and autumn leaves, rich and polished, very spicy, honey, toffee, apricot, orange rind, long and full, about $35 (excellent value); VSOP Grande Champagne, toasty and biscuity, woodland flowers and woody spices, powerful and elegant, yet indisputably earthy, about $49; Chateau Fontpinot "Tres Vieille Reserve de Chateau" Grande Champagne, extraordinarily mellow and complex, about $95; VIP XO, very spicy (sandalwood, cloves), round and complete, lavishly dense with lengthy finish, about $159; Extra Grande Champagne, rich and earthy and spicy, full-bodied and incredibly smooth and mellow, about $450.