2024 Domaine Samuel Billaud Chablis 1er Cru "Mont de Milieu"

The complex aromas of mirabelle plum, tropical fruit and citrus zest lead into a powerful, dynamic texture where the ripeness and fresh acidity achieve a superb balance. The grapes are from three parcels ranging in age from 35 to 85 years old, with the oldest planted by Billaud's grandfather. Mont de Milieu was little affected by the weather in 2024, and Billaud was able to produce 30 hl/ha here. The grapes were fermented in a combination of tank and cask.(CC)

I tasted Samuel Billaud's 2024 Mont de Milieu first thing in the morning, basically straight after housing a chorizo breakfast burrito from Los Tacos #1, so you could say my palate was primed for success. So it says something that I continued to make the entire store staff taste it again and again throughout the day, repeatedly commenting on the ever-expanding aromatics and fruit profile which only became more entrancing as the wine opened, all underlined with a broad-tipped marker by Samuel Billaud's signature precision-driven style. Samuel Billaud made the wines at his family's Billaud-Simon until a falling-out pushed him out in 2009, and for his first vintages he worked from a rented cellar in the next village over with bought grapes. He's since moved into a gravity-fed winery that backs onto his grandparents' old house in the center of Chablis and bought back a slice of the family vines, including fractions of Les Clos and Vaudésir. Jasper Morris puts it plainly: "Every time I taste with Samuel I am astonished by the beauty of his wines." Mont de Milieu sits on the same bank, the same Kimmeridgian slope and the same south-facing exposure as the grands crus, one hill along from Montée de Tonnerre with a small side valley in between. Basically, you get the ripeness and the weight of the big hill where the grand crus sit, without the same price tag, and this is a stellar example of the giving nature of the site. Mark my words, in 5 years time Samuel Billaud will be spoken about in the same circles as Raveneau and Dauvissat. Some might say he already is! I would never tell you that this wine is a steal, but for the price you pay, you are getting one hell of a bottle.