Billaud Simon Chablis Les Blanchots Vielles Vignes Grand Cru

This climat most certainly takes its name from its stony soils which are composed of whitish limestone on a light-colored clay-limestone subsoil.

Winemaker notes

Bright, clear hue with clear, green glimmers. The complex nose reveals delicate aromas of white flowers (acacia and lime blossom), vanilla and honey. The palate is well-structured and combines a rich structure and lively acidity.

2021

Burghound 91-94: A slightly riper array of mineral reduction, essence of poached pear and acacia blossom is nuanced by plenty of typical Chablis elements. The sleek, delicious and solidly dense medium weight flavors also possess good minerality and refinement, all wrapped in an intensely saline-inflected finish that is also borderline painfully intense. This lovely effort is built to repay up to a decade of aging though it should be approachable after only 5-ish years.

Decanter 93: Billaud-Simon's Blanchot is a fascinating example of this east-facing grand cru. A sunny site, there is certainly weight warmth on the palate, yet the soils, with a greater presence of white clay, contributes to a lighter style on the palate. Bailly noted that they often need to keep more leaf on the vines to protect from the sun in this warm location. 1/2 of their plots are in organic conversion. Citrus and grapefruit dominate the nose and palate.

2022

Burghound 91-94: This is also aromatically quite floral in character with its cool array of citrus confit, tidal pool and plenty of mineral reduction nuances. There is outstanding volume and richness to the bigger-bodied and more powerful, but not more refined, flavors that possess a borderline creamy mid-palate, all wrapped in a clean and markedly dry finale that flashes very fine length. I wouldn't describe this as a classic Blanchots yet it 'works' all the same.