Billaud-Simon?

S

Saina Nieminen

Saina Nieminen
I had not tried this producer before, but I managed to get a couple of the village Chablis 2005 very cheaply. Is this producer known to make tropical, fruit-forward wines? This was a nice unoaked Chardonnay but it certainly didn't conform to any preconceptions I had of Chablis. Hot year?

Gladly, I like the wine despite it not being what I expected at all: voluptuous, open, forward scent of white flowers and plums; full bodied, but well structured. It reminds me of the Clos Pepe Estate unoaked Chardonnay I once tried. So to me it seems more like an unoaked, new world Chardonnay than Chablis.
 
I haven't tasted anything from them since the late '90s, when they were not making hot weather, tropical fruit chard.

They were making pre-mox Chablis at the time as I recall. Still, when you avoided that, I liked them, and they tasted like Chablis.
 
I had a nice one from a 90's vintage too that was quite nice, slightly wooded, but recognizably Chablis.
 
I think you might be tasting 2005 as much as Billaud Simon in this particular bottle. But they do produce a bit "rounder" style chablis. You might prefer the producer in leaner vintage. But for me, it is hard to find value with Billaud Simon as their prices have always seemed high.
 
I picked up a few bottles from the guy who sold me my current wine fridge. Can't say I have much use for them...
 
I've tried the AOC once, maybe the 2004 a few years ago. Too tight to make much out of. But there are some passionate devotees of this domaine out there - you run across their notes from time to time.
 
My sole experience was with the '96 Montee de Tonnerre. Solid enough wine with some typicity, but didn't make me search out further vintages.
 
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