2011 Chablis Blanchots
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Tasting notes
(100% vinified in wood; Billaud is of the belief that Blanchot is the most mineral- dominated cru in Chablis, indeed so much so that it can be a brutal and violent wine that must be "tamed" by the wood, hence the different vinification philosophy; the Billaud vines directly abut Les Clos). Here too the wood treatment is quite subtle if not invisible as it allows the algae, lemon rind, orange peel and perfumed floral aromas to shine. The dense, powerful and very serious big-bodied flavors ooze a fine dry extract along with an almost pungent minerality before culminating in a hugely long and bone dry finish where a touch of wood resurfaces. This intensely mineral-driven effort should be one of the longer lived 2011s.
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Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Rendered as usual in barriques, a small portion of which were new, Billaud-Simon’s 2011 Chablis Blanchots Vieilles Vignes exhibits prominent scents of lanolin, resin, and vanilla from barrel. Richly-textured and oily yet with an underlying sense of firmness, this lacks primary juiciness or clarity, but certainly must be credited with stubborn persistence. The theory behind this wine’s elevage – to which, as you will be able to tell, I do not personally subscribe – is that because Blanchot is inherently prominently chalky and acidic, time in barrel will round it out. All I can say is, I wouldn’t describe the sort of woodiness on exhibit here, nor especially its tendency to rob the finish of fruit juiciness, as “rounding,” and the results are certainly not the sort to get any purchase on one’s salivary glands. When I last visited Bernard Billaud on a June day for my issue 191 report focusing on vintage 2008, he agreed for the first time to show me his young grand crus in advance of bottling and alongside the premier crus that I was used to tasting at that season of the year. Unfortunately, he made emphatically clear on this most recent occasion that such would not be the case; indeed, I was not offered any of the 2012s to taste, but instead the full 2011 collection, and a report on Billaud-Simon’s 2012 will have to wait for next year, before which, in any case, they will not have been put on the market. (In keeping with existing conventions at The Wine Advocate – and seeing that there are modes of vinification in common and only one overlap in cru designations – I have not indicated as part of each wine’s description whether or not it relies entirely on domaine as opposed to contract fruit.) Imported by Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900
The estate's 2011 Chablis Blanchots Vieilles Vignes is brilliant. Freshly cut flowers, pears and mint all come to life in the glass. The 2011 was vinified and aged in French oak , but there is absolutely no perception of wood whatsoever. The flavors remain bright, focused and beautifully delineated throughout. Smoke, crushed rocks and melange of white-fleshed fruit reappear on the impeccably textured finish. The Blanchots is one of the most powerful, massive wines in this range. I would give it another year or two in bottle to settle down a bit. Still, there is no doubt the Blanchots Vieilles Vignes is superb. (AG) 94+
(done entirely in stainless steel tank): Pale, bright yellow-green. Perfumed, pure aromas of lime, apple, powdered stone, quinine, mint and white pepper. Fresh and elegant grand cru with terrific nuance to its flavors of citrus fruit, spices, white flowers and fresh herbs. Precise but not austere; at once brisk and seamless. Impeccably balanced wine with enticing mineral and white flower notes on the long finish.