2010 Chablis Mont de Milieu Vielles Vignes

Billaud-Simon’s 2010 Chablis Mont de Milieu Vieilles Vignes is dazzling. Juicy peaches, nectarines and a host of yellow stone fruits emerge from the glass. There is an exotic, intensely perfumed quality to the Vieilles Vignes that is striking. Floral, spiced notes develop over time, adding to the wine’s impeccable balance. The Vieilles Vignes spent 18 months in a combination of 60% steel and 40% oak. This is a bit of a ‘Cote de Beaune’ style, but it works. Anticipated maturity: 2013+. Bernard Billaud told me he views 2011 as a classic Chablis vintage, one of the few producers who holds that view. The growing season got off to an early start, with flowering that was three weeks ahead of schedule. The harvest began on September 10, as opposed to late September/early October, which is much more common. I tasted most of the 2011s from tank and/or barrel, except the Petit Chablis and Chablis, which were bottled in May 2012. Always eloquent, Billaud describes 2010 as a ‘grand millesime.’ Vintage 2010 at the domaine was characterized by a rainy summer with little heat. On average, yields were down 25%. Billaud bottled his 2010 grand crus in May 2012. Importer: Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900

(40% of this wine was aged in new oak, of which about one-fifth was new; bottled in May of 2012, just a couple weeks prior to my visit, along with the estate's grand crus): Tangy ripe peach and nectarine aromas are complicated but not overwhelmed by spicy oak. Supple and broad if not particularly sweet or expressive today. Much more thickness and structure here than the basic Mont de Milieu bottling. Finishes smooth and harmonious.

The 2010 Chablis Mont de Milieu Vieilles Vines is another incredibly fresh, piercing white laced with green apples, pears, mint and lime peel. It shows fabulous energy and drive in a slightly brighter style than the Vaillons.