2007 Chablis Tete d'Or

From a small parcel of hand-harvested vines along the river and beneath the Montee de Tonnerre, Billaud’s 2007 Chablis Tete d’Or – bottled after only nine months, and a small part of which (unlike most Billaud-Simon wines) spends time in older barrels – emphasizes luscious ripe pineapple, tangerine, and peach as well as a saline, savory mineral cast, none of this perturbed by the hints of wood spice and toast. A glossy texture helps support the rich, ripe side of a wine whose citrus and minerals can take care of themselves. The finish here is lip-smacking in its combination of juicy refreshment, invigorating salinity, and savory shellfish reduction. This will prove fascinatingly delicious as well as versatile over at least the next 3-4 years. Bernard Billaud’s 2006s reflected their relatively late picking and encroaching botrytis of that vintage in opulence and exoticism. His 2007 premier crus – excepting a hail-influenced Mont-de-Milieu – could hardly be more different: models of brightness, long-line, and transparency to mineral nuance. As usual, the grand cru wines here are released late, and Billaud is highly reluctant to show them in company with the premier crus of the same vintage, so I include on this occasion my notes on those finished 2006s. Billaud’s nephew – a stake holder who has had hands-on responsibility in the cellar in recent years – left the estate after the vinification of the 2008s, amid rumors of an impending legal dispute. Imported by Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900