Domaine Samuel Billaud - Chablis 2024
In Chablis, Samuel Billaud is one of the most precise signatures of the new Burgundian generation, while being deeply rooted in a family history embedded in the vineyard. Coming from a large family of winemakers, he vinified for nearly twenty years for the family estate Billaud-Simon before developing his own domaine, quickly recognized for the clarity of its whites. His work is based on an intimate knowledge of the Chablis terroirs, with a constant search for freshness, brightness, and minerality. The wines of the domaine are built around a very fine balance between maturity and acidity, without seeking richness or marked oak effects. This Chablis 2024 expresses the spirit of the domaine in a pure, direct, and accessible version, but with an ambition for precision that far exceeds a simple village wine. The 2024 vintage, demanding and reduced in volume in the Chablis region, returns to a more classic, vertical, and salivating profile, with an energy particularly suited to Samuel Billaud's identity. This cuvée thus offers a crystalline reading of Chardonnay on the limestones of northern Burgundy.
The Chablis appellation relies exclusively on Chardonnay, in a vineyard organized around the Serein valley and its limestone slopes. The Chablis, Premiers Crus, and Grands Crus are mostly planted on Kimmeridgian soils, this marl-limestone formation rich in marine fossils that contributes to the tension and saline signature of the wines. Samuel Billaud pays particular attention to the harvest date, determined to preserve the balance between grape maturity and natural acidity. The grapes are pressed directly and slowly using pneumatic presses, then the musts are settled at low temperature in temperature-controlled tanks. Fermentations are carefully monitored, with a logic of precision rather than excessive intervention. Aging on fine lees then contributes to stability, balance, and this mineral tension that characterizes the domaine's style. For this Chablis 2024, the whole suggests a dry, slender, very readable white, where the energy of the vintage and the purity of the fruit play the leading role.
The color presents a bright pale yellow, with slightly green reflections evoking the youth and freshness of Chablis Chardonnay. The nose opens with fresh lemon, green apple, crunchy pear, and white flowers, then evolves towards notes of oyster shell, wet chalk, and gunflint. On the palate, the attack is straight, clear, carried by precise acidity and a chiselled texture. The wine does not seek demonstrative amplitude; it favors purity, length, and that saline sensation that immediately invites another glass. The mid-palate maintains a beautiful fruit density, sufficient to balance the vintage's tension, without losing the elegance or liveliness typical of Chablis. The finish prolongs citrus, white fruits, and a chalky minerality, with a fine bitterness that enhances its gastronomic character. This Chablis will perfectly accompany oysters, seafood, sea bream tartare, gougères, grilled fish, lemon chicken, or fresh goat cheese. Served around 10 to 12°C, it will best express its precision, brightness, and mineral freshness.
Grape variety: Chardonnay
