We are kicking
off the upcoming weekend with a star from
Chablis. Neil Martin, wine writer
extraordinaire, penned a sentence that has the
Chablis-world stirring:
"For a start,
Samuel Billaud’s exquisite wines rank
alongside that aforementioned pair".
That pair being François Raveneau and
Vincent Dauvissat.
Wow!
We've known
for many years how great Samuel's wines were.
We gave him the nickname after our 2019 visit,
"The Hardest Working Vigneron in Chablis". His
work pays off, vintage after vintage.
Today we are
sharing his superlative wines from the 2024
vintage. It was a wicked Summer full of cold
weather, rain, mildew issues but the results
are nothing less than stunning. This is
classic Chablis from back in the day when
oyster shells and limestone minerality took
center stage, and sea-spray nuances were not
far behind.
We begin with
his Petit.
2024 Samuel
Billaud Petit Chablis $42
The vintage
was a small one; only 1,000 bottles were
produced. As Allen Meadows wrote, "A classic
Chablis nose of mineral, iodine and Granny
Smith apple leads to dense and gorgeously
textured middle weight flavors that culminate
in a detailed, even chiseled, long finish.
This is an excellent Petit Chablis."
We've already
enjoyed a few bottles and could not agree
more.
Next we have
his village Chablis:
2024 Samuel
Billaud Chablis $46
A bit more texture here, somewhat rounder, but
with the classic Chablis minerality, Granny
Smith apple, citrus, and a hint tropical
fruit. This is a tremendous effort.
Moving on the
Premier Crus
2024 Samuel
Billaud Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre
$99
While The Burghound writes, "almost painfully
intense, chiseled, stony and strikingly long
finish." and Jasper Morris penned, "...has
that classical marine backbone", here at
Renegade our one sentence sums it up:
Utterly
classic Chablis in the very best sense.
2024 Samuel
Billaud Chablis 1er Cru Mont de
Milieu $98
The last wine in the line-up is a bit more
exotic, dense, powerful, but still super
bright, super fresh. The finish is ravishing.
For those who would like to experience the
range of Samuel Billaud's wines we have a
holiday weekend 4-pack with special pricing.
Renegade is
offering a bottle of each of the above Chablis
for $245 through Labor Day Weekend (normally
$285).
Swing by to
pick up your 4-Pack or give us a call and
we'll put one (or two) aside for you.
And if you wold like to geek out on Chablis
further Renegade has put together a Chablis
guide that's detailed and answers the burning
question: What's the difference between Petit
Chablis and Chablis.
