I don’t find it easy to say the name Chablis without finding my mouth starting to water. While most chardonnay likes a touch of oak for texture, Chablis doesn’t need it. In fact its mouthwatering qualities derive from lack of use of oak in all but the grander premier and grand cru manifestations. Why is that? Thanks to a delicacy born of its cool location at the northern tip of Burgundy, chardonnay here reacts like the aromatic grapes of Alsace and Germany, preferring little or no oak to show at its bone dry, tongue-tingling best.