Montmains

From 60-year-old vines, the nose offers citrus and floral notes. After the initial zesty kick, this becomes more expansive on the mid-palate, tightening up again with an unerring finish of chalk, lemon and salinity. Drink 2020-2026.
Adam Bruntlett, Wine Buyer

The legendary Louis Pinson himself retired in 1983, having made some fabulous oldstyle Chablis. His great-grand-daughter, Charlène, along with her father Laurent and her uncle Christophe are now in charge. There is a Rue Pinson in Chablis, dating back to an earlier generation when three Pinson brothers lived in identical houses on the street. Everything is hand-harvested, with sorting of the grapes both in the vineyard and at the winery. The wines are wild-fermented, mostly in stainless steel tanks, before barrel ageing, with the proportion of oak depending on the cuvée. Despite describing 2016 as a testing year, Laurent Pinson and his daughter Charlène are upbeat, declaring themselves very happy with the quality of the grapes and resultant wines. Volumes are down in many cases, and the limited-production Cuvée Mademoiselle has not been made this year.

This comes from two plots – Chapelot and the 90-yearold Cartes – this year, rather than the usual three, as the Pargues was hailed completely. This is very classic Chablis on the nose, while the palate has gorgeous concentration and purity, with a saline, marine finish. Punches above the weight of a normal village wine. Drink 2020-2024.
Adam Bruntlett, Burgundy Buyer

The brilliantly talented Samuel Billaud was finding family politics hard going, so he founded his own wine label in Chablis separate from Domaine Billaud-Simon. However with the sale of Domaine BillaudSimon to Faiveley in 2014, Samuel has got back a proportion of the vineyards for himself. Whether from domaine sources or purchased grapes, Samuel Billaud’s wines demonstrate his exceptional talent. Samuel feels that 2016 is very close in style to the outstanding 2014 vintage, and says that the concentrating effect of hail and frost early in the season, along with the cool ripening period has given a good balance of matière and acidity. This is a very promising set of wines which will gain in weight and complexity with élevage. Samuel is undoubtedly making some of the finest wines in Chablis.