Even with the Euro strong as it is, one of the wine world’s great values comes from the northern tip of the Burgundy wine region in France, from a little chalk and limestone plateau called Chablis. For the mouthwatering, citrusy, yet rich white that Chablis is, the wine is undervalued because of two reasons, the first being a case of mistaken identity. You see, many U.S. wine drinkers of a certain age, when they hear Chablis, think of a bestselling jug-white from Gallo, ubiquitous on American fridge top shelves in the seventies.

Chardonnay lovers and skeptics, you both need to rethink Chablis. Click here for enlightenment:

Gallo’s jug wine was a mutt white (made mostly of French colombard, if I remember correctly, plus a whole host of California-grown B-list white grapes), but they gave it the name of Chablis Blanc because it sounded French-fancy, was relatively easy to pronounce, and harkened (in some minds) back to the lovely, affordable whites from the actual villages in Chablis, France.

The second reason, I think, has to do with the unfamiliar way that Europeans name their wines. Because they name their wines mostly after the region, not the grape, not many of us know that real Chablis is actually made from 100 percent chardonnay, which happens to be America’s favorite variety by far. If we did, I think that Chablis would be much more popular stateside. So, come to think of it, shhhh!

Essentially, Chablis is a white Burgundy, since Chablis is the northernmost outpost of the Burgundy region. And like whites from the heart of Burgundy, Chablis is made from chardonnay. But unlike California chardonnay (and some of its really expensive reference wines in Burgundy), Chablis walks its own path: the winemakers don’t use as much oak, first of all, so the wines are crisper and show more emphasis on the fruit. Secondly, the soil and climate are different (poorer and cooler, respectively). The result is like the delicious bottle I’m enjoying now, from Jean-Marc Brocard. It’s a Chablis Premier Cru, which means it comes from one of the best vineyards in Chablis, and this bottling is called “Collection Extreme.” And although its aromas are a little reserved, on the palate it has intense flavors of lemon and green apple. There’s a lot of quince fruit in the background, too. It would be superb with rotisserie chicken or any richer fish. And for $20.99, that’s cheaper than a lot of over-oaked, less interesting chards coming at you from the left coast.