2011 Chablis Les Clos

Dusty chalk and zesty lime mark the not atypical nose of Billaud-Simon’s 2011 Chablis Les Clos, with lily-of-the-valley and hints of apricot kernel adding allure and piquancy. Dense and relatively firm in feel for its vintage, this finishes with a mouthwatering influx of salinity and formidable penetration and concentration. I suspect it will perform impressively through at least 2013. 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

(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.

Some transparency and life on the nose even if less dense than the Jean-Paul Droin Clos. Some ripe fruit in evidence but no shortage of acidity. Very fine. Already some persistence. (JR)