2016 Domaine Billaud-Simon Offer

We need to talk about...Chablis

As the 2017 Burgundy en primeur campaign continues, it's worth taking a look to the north, to Chablis, which alone accounts for 23% of the vineyard area of Burgundy. 

The 2017s were hard hit by the delightfully named 'gelées noires' (black frost) for the second year running and though quality is good, the harvest was tiny.  Prices are likely to rise and our advice is to take advantage now of a parcel of some of the best wines from the equally small but excellent 2016 vintage.

Established in 1815, Billaud-Simon is one of the great names in Chablis, with over 20 hectares and holdings in eight of the best Grand and Premier Cru sites. 

Faiveley purchased the domaine in 2014, bringing a new injection of vigour and a fresh approach to winemaking, emphasising earlier picking to retain freshness and acidity. The majority of the domaine's wines are made without oak.  A prime example of the mineral style of Chablis and wonderful when young, their acidity also makes for great ageing potential.

The Tête d'Or may be classified as a village wine, but it comes from the best sites, adjacent to Premier and Grand Cru vineyards. 

As for the Premiers and Grands Crus themselves, it is a growing mystery as to why prices are so modest when compared to equivalent wines from the the Côte de Beaune.  With the Grands Crus at a similar price to some Premiers Crus from Puligny or Chassagne, we recommend adding them to your cellar.

Offered in bond, due to land in the UK March 2019.  

2016 Chablis 'Tête d'Or', Domaine Billaud-Simon

"...one of the most attractive Chablis wines on the market. The Tête d’Or comes from selected parcels advantageously sited near to premier and grand cru sites, given just a whisper of oak. Fresh, light and flowery aromas draw the drinker in to this graceful wine, and continue to charm on the palate. The wine’s stony finesse slowly amplifies towards the finish, and it has textural pleasure as well as the pale flame of its roundly acid flavours. 91 points." Andrew Jefford, Decanter June '18

£180 per dozen bottles in bond

2016 Chablis "Mont de Milieu" 1er Cru, Domaine Billaud-Simon

"Slightly more closed on the nose than the Vaillons. A little more lime/cedar. But then so rich in fruit on the palate, absolutely delicious already. Full of bright citrus without loss of Chablis tension and length (2020-2028). 17 points." Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com Jan '18

"...a clean and precise, quite austere bouquet that seems to have more intensity than its peers. The palate is medium-bodied with fresh acidity, just a subtle touch of reduction, impressive tension and ample weight and concentration on the finish. This is a very fine Mont de Milieu that should offer several years of drinking pleasure. Tasted blind at the BIVB Chablis tasting. 92 points." Neal Martin,Vinous.com Aug '18

£145 per 6 bottles in bond

2016 Chablis "Montée de Tonnerre" 1er Cru, Domaine Billaud-Simon

"This great vineyard can, in some incarnations and for no obvious reason, almost seem to acquire a seaweedy, marine allure and an umami intrigue inside its cascade of stony citrus and restrained green apple. That's the case here, all amplified by the wine’s intensity, depth and textural poise. Drinking Window 2019 - 2028 93 points." Andrew Jefford Decanter June '18

"A little more spice and oatmeal on the nose here than on the Mont de Milieu, more sign of oak, but not overdone. Seems to have a little less fruit concentration than the Mont de Milieu. It's a little leaner but still very long. Fabulous mouth-watering finish. 17 points"  Julia Harding, jancisrobinson.com Jan '18

£165 per 6 bottles in bond

2016 Chablis "Les Clos" Grand Cru, Domaine Billaud-Simon

Les Clos Grand Cru From a fine site towards the top of the hill, and with some ageing in steel, this is an authoritative, structured, commanding grand cru Chablis in crystalline style. It's fresh and bright, yet almost severe and rigorously sappy, begging for a few years in the cellar. 94 points." Andrew Jefford, Decanter Jan '17

"Bright light-medium yellow. Knockout nose combines aromas of fresh apricot, musky ginger, crushed rock and scallop shell; no shortage of lift here! Very concentrated, dense, masculine wine with a touch of sweetness swallowed up by saline minerality (the acidity here is 4.4 grams per liter). Finishes powerful, tactile and very long, almost austere in spite of its hint of sweetness but not particularly phenolic. This is much less delicate than the Valmur and Vaudésir yet still wonderfully fine-grained and silky. The yield here was just 10 hectoliters per hectare due to frost, said Bailly, adding that this site hadn't frosted for decades. 93-95 points" Stephen Tanzer Aug '17

£305 per 6 bottles in bond

2016 Chablis "Les Blanchots" Grand Cru, Domaine Billaud-Simon

"...(just a single barrel produced from a very small crop with a yield of around 15 hectoliters per hectare): Bright, light yellow. Sexy, sappy aromas of lime, white peach and spices. Suave, silky and delicate, offering both good volume and noteworthy delineation; nicely filled in and balanced from the start. Fresh yellow fruit flavors display serious concentration and subtle sweetness. Finishes lively, spicy and long, and not edgy like the Valmur and Bougros. 91-93 points." Stephen Tanzer Vinous.com Aug '17

£335 per 6 bottles in bond