“Year-in, year-out – Samuel produces some of the most texturally sensuous
wines of Chablis. I always look forward to my visit”
Bill Nanson, Burgundy Report
Today, we’re thrilled to release the 2020 Crus from Samuel Billaud. Chablis is unsurprisingly one of the most sought after Burgundies in Australia and the hunt for the best of them is fierce!
Located in the well-established Chablis region in the far north of Burgundy, since its foundation in 2009, Samuel Billaud's domaine has been on the watch list of every serious Chablis fan. Samuel is producing wine of extreme finesse, showcasing the best of what Chablis has to offer.
In 2014, Samuel Billaud made a welcomed entrance in the top five producers of the region. He struck out on his own, after the family business Billaud-Simon was sold to Faiveley, a large operator in Côte-D'Or. Samuel made wines at the family Domaine for about a decade, and though he was compelled to stick to a family style of wine, it was made with talent. When Samuel left the family, he cherry-picked Chablis' elite plots including Grand Crus Les Clos, Vaudésir and Les Preuses and notorious Premier crus such as Montée de Tonnerre, Mont de Milieu, Séchet, and Vaillons.
Fast track a few years, and more than ever Billaud is free spirited, and making remarkable wines out of his brand new winery in the centre of the village. The style is an extremely fine tuned balance of Chablis character and concentrated fruit complexity and texture. The use of oak is clever, only on Grand Crus and Premier Crus "Montée de Tonnerre" and "Mont de Milieu".
Samuel makes honest terroir driven wines with minimum intervention. This results in an array of beautiful Chardonnays that are set to seduce. The crunchy acidity and minerality of the Kimmeridgian soils shine through with deft elegance. Delighting the palate: a mix of fresh apple, white peach, silex (resulting from the deposits of flint found in the soil) and oyster shell flavours along with some delightful brioche aromas. These wines are to be placed on the podium of the very best Chablis wines.
Reviews
"Billaud always exudes confidence in his wines, and he has the quality to back that up. His judicious use of larger used wooden barrels for aging in various proportions with traditional stainless steel yields Chablis with plenty of terroir expression, density and tension. Highlights include a riveting 2020 Chablis Les Séchets courtesy of 80-year-old vines, and a stunning Montée de Tonnerre. Generally, I do find the 2020s potentially a little more consistent compared to the 2019s, although Billaud’s Grand Crus in this vintage are unmissable, particularly his Les Preuses and Vaudésir." - Neal Martin (Vinous) on the 2020 Vintage
"The 2020s reviewed below were bottled between and September 2021 and May 2022 using the Diam brand composite cork for all except the grands crus which are bottled under natural cork. I would observe that Billaud produced some excellent wines in both vintages and they are definitely worth considering." - Allen Meadows (Burghound) on the 2021 Vintage
Wines
BOURGOGNE D'OR 2021
CHABLIS 1ER CRU "MONT DE MILIEU 2020
CHABLIS 1ER CRU "SÉCHET" 2020
CHABLIS GRAND CRU "VALMUR" 2020
CHABLIS GRAND CRU "VAUDÉSIR" 2020
CHABLIS GRAND CRU "LES CLOS" 2020
CHABLIS GRAND CRU "BLANCHOT" 2020