Chablis Blanchots, Grand Cru 2017

Billaud's 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot was another wine cropped at very low yields, around 20 hectoliters per hectare in this case. Offering up a pretty bouquet of citrus blossom, peaches and pears that's subtly framed by a discrete touch of oak, it's full-bodied, satiny and layered, with a broad attack, a fleshy core and a precise but delicately exotic finish. ese are bright, nervy expressions of Chablis with plenty of concentration and length. In a sense, Billaud's evolution as a free agent has followed a similar trajectory to that of Billaud Simon under its new management. Producing classy wines of crystalline purity, this address already belongs on any list of Chablis's best, and the 2017s, revisited from bottle, are showing brilliantly. Billaud was one of several producers who observed that the vintage had tightened up with élevage, and all his 2017 offerings come warmly recommended.

Score: 93

William Kelley, Wine Advocate, RobertParker.com Maturity: 2020-2035 30 August 2019