2023 Domaine Samuel Billaud Petite Chablis

To bottle before the harvest. Vines from 1976 on 41B rootstock, a windy site with some kimmeridgian soil. Pale lemon. A fine classy dry fruit on the nose. Delicious salinity, one of the best examples. Drink from 2025-2027. Tasted Jun 2024.

Samuel Billaud’s 2023 Petit Chablis derives from 40-year-old vines in Sur les Clos, based on Portlandian limestone. It wafts from the glass with aromas of lemon zest, oyster shell, acacia and a hint of youthful reduction. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied and taut and more mineral-driven than fruity, a considerable performance for the appellation. Samuel Billaud established his own state-of-the-art winery in the center of Chablis in 2009, and he has emerged as one of the village’s top four or five producers, crafting wines characterized by textural seamlessness and precision. Working with four hectares of organically farmed estate vineyards, supplemented by purchased grapes (for which Billaud decides the harvest date, and his team usually picks the fruit), harvesting of ripe yet vibrant fruit is the rule here. This is followed by fermentation at 16 to 20 degrees Celsius in stainless steel tank and/or used wood (mostly 500-liter barrels from Tonnellerie Chassin), then maturation for 13 months on the lees for Petit Chablis and Chablis Village and 15 to 18 months for the premier cru and grand cru bottlings. His wines are bright, nervy expressions of Chablis with plenty of concentration and length. Producing classy wines of crystalline purity, this address already belongs on any list of Chablis's best.(KK)