2014 Chablis Mont de Milieu
Estimated value
Buying options
Tasting notes
This is the first wine in the range to display any appreciable reduction and while it's not strong, it is enough to push the underlying fruit to the background. The medium-bodied flavors are tightly coiled with terrific energy that is so mineral-driven that the bone dry finish is like sucking on tiny stones. This is not the most refined wine here but it is the most intense.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(10% aged in old casks; from low-yielding old vines): Bright, pale yellow-straw. Complex aromas of lime blossom, crushed stone, spearmint and anise. Densely packed and tactile yet seamless, with nicely integrated lemony acidity giving the wine serious energy and thrust. This beauty is concentrated, full and very long.
The 2014 Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu underwent a 14-month maturation, 10% in French oak, and has a pretty, white petal scented bouquet with green apple, kiwi fruit and light peachy aromas. The palate is well balanced with a citric entry, the acidity is well judged, although I would be seeking more complexity in the second half where it feels rather strict and linear. Not bad, but it could be even better.
(from very old vines that yielded just 35 hectoliters per hectare): Very pale yellow. High-pitched aromas of lemon, crushed rock, anise and white pepper. Tactile and brisk on the palate, boasting lovely inner-mouth energy and lift to the flavors of lemon, ginger and quinine. The wine's restrained sweetness perfectly buffered by firm minerality. Vibrant, sharply delineated wine with excellent spicy, perfumed length. (Note that Billaud-Simon will no longer offer a Mont de Milieu Vieille Vigne cuvée .)