Domaine Billaud-Simon Les Blanchots Vieille Vigne, Chablis Grand Cru, France

比約西蒙酒莊布蘭碩（夏布利特級(jí)園）老藤白葡萄酒

點(diǎn)擊次數(shù)：6867

The 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots Vieilles Vignes has gained in tension since I tasted it from barrel, and today, the wine displays a pretty bouquet of crisp peach, white flowers, orange rind and anise without the musky nuances it revealed 12 months ago. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, broad and layered, with a ripe core of fruit and a saline finish. Only 75 cases were produced.

The 2015 Chablis Grand Cru les Blanchots Vieilles Vignes has a simple (for a grand cru) apple blossom and pear-scented bouquet that needs to express more mineralité. The palate is well balanced with good weight and a subtle marine influence tincturing the malic fruit with a brisk, flinty finish. Fine, but maybe more premier than grand cru in quality.

The 2012 Chablis Grand Cru Les Blanchots Vieilles Vignes (one assumes there is more than one old vine, but that is how the label reads) has a deft, defined and focused bouquet with delicate floral notes intertwined with the citrus fruits and orange blossom. The palate is well-defined with a sharp citrus entry, crisp acidity and a tense and long finish that will offer more with two or three years in bottle. This has great potential. Drink 2017-2027. It is confusing having both a Samuel Billaud and a Billaud-Simon producing wines in Chablis, but unfortunately that is the case while the intra-family dispute goes on. One hopes it is resolved sooner rather than later. Charles Louis Noel Billaud established the estate in 1815, thereby making it one of the forefathers of the region. Bernard Billaud returned to the domaine in 1991, whereupon he seized the opportunity to ratchet up the quality by installing a pneumatic press and stainless steel tanks. I have tasted the wines regularly here in the UK and they have always been impressive. For sure, the 2012s were perhaps a little more inconsistent due to the challenges of the growing season. But the grand crus certainly deliver where it matters – in the glass – while I appreciate the premier crus remaining true to their respective terroirs. Post-script: As this report went to print, news filtered through with regard to the sale of Domaine Billaud-Simon to Maison Faiveley, giving them a strong foothold in the region. How this will impact Samuel Billaud remains to be seen, though it clearly thwarts any hopes of him returning to farming the vines that he once tended (wouldn’t it be a twist if Faiveley subsequently appointed him winemaker!). Exact details are yet to emerge, but hopefully all parties can move forward. Importer: Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900

Rendered as usual in barriques, a small portion of which were new, Billaud-Simon’s 2011 Chablis Blanchots Vieilles Vignes exhibits prominent scents of lanolin, resin, and vanilla from barrel. Richly-textured and oily yet with an underlying sense of firmness, this lacks primary juiciness or clarity, but certainly must be credited with stubborn persistence. The theory behind this wine’s elevage – to which, as you will be able to tell, I do not personally subscribe – is that because Blanchot is inherently prominently chalky and acidic, time in barrel will round it out. All I can say is, I wouldn’t describe the sort of woodiness on exhibit here, nor especially its tendency to rob the finish of fruit juiciness, as “rounding,” and the results are certainly not the sort to get any purchase on one’s salivary glands. When I last visited Bernard Billaud on a June day for my issue 191 report focusing on vintage 2008, he agreed for the first time to show me his young grand crus in advance of bottling and alongside the premier crus that I was used to tasting at that season of the year. Unfortunately, he made emphatically clear on this most recent occasion that such would not be the case; indeed, I was not offered any of the 2012s to taste, but instead the full 2011 collection, and a report on Billaud-Simon’s 2012 will have to wait for next year, before which, in any case, they will not have been put on the market. (In keeping with existing conventions at The Wine Advocate – and seeing that there are modes of vinification in common and only one overlap in cru designations – I have not indicated as part of each wine’s description whether or not it relies entirely on domaine as opposed to contract fruit.) Imported by Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900

Aging in oak gives the 2010 Chablis Blanchots Vieilles Vignes much of its softness and suppleness, but a serious core of deep, resonant fruit lies behind the wine’s approachable, open personality. In 2010, the oak is much better integrated than in the 2011 but that may be related to the extra year of elevage the 2010 has. A hint of yellow stone fruits, spices and apricots lingers on the finish. This should drink well with minimum cellaring. It is a striking effort. Anticipated maturity: 2012+. Bernard Billaud told me he views 2011 as a classic Chablis vintage, one of the few producers who holds that view. The growing season got off to an early start, with flowering that was three weeks ahead of schedule. The harvest began on September 10, as opposed to late September/early October, which is much more common. I tasted most of the 2011s from tank and/or barrel, except the Petit Chablis and Chablis, which were bottled in May 2012. Always eloquent, Billaud describes 2010 as a ‘grand millesime.’ Vintage 2010 at the domaine was characterized by a rainy summer with little heat. On average, yields were down 25%. Billaud bottled his 2010 grand crus in May 2012. Importer: Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900