Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er cru
2023
Domaine Billaud-Simon has been producing Chablis wines since 1815 and are known for their mineral driven, pure, elegant and fresh Chablis. The Domaine was created by Charles Louis Noël Billaud in 1815 following his return to his family’s land from the Napoleonic wars. His wines quickly garnered a reputation for quality wines. The Domaine’s vineyard holdings grew quite considerably in the 1930’s following the marriage of Charles Louis’ grandson, Jean Billaud to Renée Simon. Jean...
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This climat is situated alongside the former Roman road that links the town of Auxerre with the town of Tonnerre. At this place, the road climbed the hillside up towards the plateau in the direction of Tonnerre. As an extension of the Grands Crus, this is the most diverse of the Premiers Crus with a very complete profile: mineral, floral, oiliness, body and a rich character.
The grapes are picked and sorted manually on a vibrating sorting table to retain only the healthiest fruit. The grapes are drained naturally before being pressed using a pneumatic press gently to extract the juices and conserve as much aroma as possible. Static cold settling of the musts for 12 to 24 hours in stainless steel vats to obtain a bright, clear juice. Alcoholic fermentation is followed by malolactic fermentation, both natural, in stainless steel vats. 14 to 16 months in stainless steel vats to preserve freshness and minerality. The wine is racked twice before being bottled at the end of Autumn.
Beautiful white gold hue with greenish tinges. This 1er Cru offers an exceptional aromatic profile with mineral notes and spice. The perfect balance between strength, freshness, sweet fruity notes and intense floral aromas. A complex, elegant and remarkably harmonious wine.
This lively, fresh expression of Montée de Tonnerre features aromas of gooseberry and cream with a suggestion of oyster shell; a salty, mineral tang arrives at the end on the palate. The texture is silky and very fine. The grapes are from several parcels totaling 2.15ha in the lieux-dits of Pied d’Aloup and Côte de Bréchain. In 2023, they were gently pressed and fermented exclusively in tank to preserve the freshness of the fruit.
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(from a 2.5 ha parcel of 35+ year old vines – two thirds of the blend is from Chapelot, and the remainder is from Pied d’Aloup and Montée de Tonnerre proper; the Pied d’Aloup vines were planted in 1935 ; 100% stainless). An exuberantly floral-suffused nose displays additional aromas of tidal pool, citrus zest and plenty of iodine character. The racy and notably finer, if less powerful and generous middle weight flavors flash evident minerality on the youthfully austere bitter lemon-inflected finish that goes on and on. Excellent potential here.
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