2024 Chablis Les Fourneaux
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Tasting notes
As normal, the Forneaux is a softer expression – scented with white florals, lime blossom and creamy chalk. There’s a rounder core of greengage, but the palate retains a green-apple zing – driven and pure, persistently mouthwatering, fresh and tense, with a very long finish.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Vinified in a combination of steel and 500-litre casks. Tank sample. Warm and generous on the palate – will certainly appeal to those looking for a Chablis with a bit more ripeness and less harsh edges. Finishes with an intriguing, appetising lick of minerality. Should age gracefully and well. (AWH)
Sourced from two plots and a site that saw less damage this year, Samuel Billaud’s 2024 Chablis 1er Cru Les Fourneaux wafts from the glass with a bouquet of lemon oil, nashi pear, oyster liquor and spring flowers mingling with gooseberry. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, racy and tensile yet concentrated, delivering fine depth and concluding with a pure, saline finish.
A cool, pure and very Chablis-like nose also displays the classic markers of lemon rind, sea breeze and oyster shell. There is even better size, weight and power to the broad-shouldered flavors that exhibit excellent length on the mineral-driven, detailed, robust and compact finale. This is quite simply an outstanding Fourneaux, a vineyard that tends to get lost when surrounded by those with greater reputations, so don’t overlook it as this is impressive. Sweet spot. Drink 2032+
About the producer
Samuel Billaud started making wine under his own name in 2009, but he is one of the most experienced producers in Chablis, having made wine in the region since 1985.