Wine Advocate
...............1997 Vintage................

This Estate has been passed from father to son since 1815. Presently, the young, talented, intelligent and energic Samuel Billaud is at its reins. Throughout the Cote de Beaune, in the cellars of that region's established and rising stars, Billaud's name is constantly mentioned as Chablis' hope for the future. My tasting of his 1997s, as well as consumption of numerous bottles of 1995s and 1996s stateside and in Beaune' s restaurants, confirm the excellence of Billaud's work. If he were to abandon machine harvesting (only the grands crus and old-vine premier crus are harvested by hand), and excessive manipulations (a cold stabilization, 2-4 rackings, 3 finings and a filtration), there is no telling what heights this man could achieve.

Billaud like the 1997 vintage, describing it as "well-balanced and from an extremely healthy harvest. He is not as enthusiastic about the 1998 vintage, however. Some parcels were stuck by devastating hail storms (his Mont de Milieu vines produced only 50-60% of their normal loads), and the three weeks of rain prior to harvest brought rot and less than ideal maturity levels.

" The 1998s will be reminiscent of the 1991s", said Billaud. Readers who can still find some bottles of Billaud-Simon's 1996s on the market are well-advised to consider them, particularly the upper-end cuvées. As Billaud said, " there are extremely rich and complex, well-balanced and age-worthy as their high acidity is covered by richness of fruit ".

Billaud is experimenting with the use of oak 
(the vast majority of modern-day Chablis are made in massive stainless steel tanks hooked up to computer systems that regulate remperature), with an elevage on the wines' fine lees (the Petit Chablis and Chablis are left on their lees 2 months, the other cuvées up to 6 months).

Produced from a parcel located below the Montée de Tonnerre vineyard, the 1997 Chablis Tête d'Or, was vinified and aged in 20% oak. 
It reveals ripe pear aromas and an oily-textured, plump and broad character. Candied almonds and sweet lemon juice are found in this medium- bodied, early drinking offering. Anticipated maturity: now-2002.

The 1997 Chablis Mont de Milieu displays opulent almond cookie, spice and red berry scents. It is a fat, velvety-textured, medium-bodied, dense, yet well-focused wine with candied white fruit and mineral flavors. 
It exhibits excellent ripeness of fruit, balance and richness. Drink it over the next 4 years."

Three thousand bottles of the chalk, mineral and pear-scented 1997 Chablis Fourchaume were produced. It offers lovely grip, breadth and freshness, as well as an oily-textured and sea sheell-flavored personality. This medium-bodied wine will deliver loads of pleasure if drunk over the next 5 years.

As was noted, I tasted two distinct cuvées of the 1997 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre.
To every consumer's frustration, they will be labeled identically, yet are significantly different. The first, rated 89 points, displays stone, flint, crisp pear and apricot pit aromas. It is velvety-texture, medium-bodied and filled with nuts, while fruits and honeysuckle blossoms.
Were it not for a drying finish, it would have merited an outstanding score. The second cuvée, crafted from a parcel of older vines, (it also enjoyed a longer elevage) is significantly more complex, concentrated, dense, with a much longer finish. It merited a score in the 91-93 point range. The first bottling should be consumed over the next 5 years, the second between 2001 and 2007. Sadly, I have no idea which cuvée will be on the shelves of retailers.

Billaud vinified and aged his 1997 Chablis Mont de Milieu vieilles vignes ( 55 year old vine ) half in stainless steel and half in oak barrels ranging from one to five years old. The end result is an outstanding effort that displays a nose of minerals, toast, flowers and faint hints of creme brulee and vanilla bean. It has a steely, medium-to-full-bodied core filled with white berries, flint and pit fruits. This wine has superb ripeness, concentration, grip and lenght. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2006.

The following wines were tasted directly from their tanks where they were awaiting fining, filtration and bottling. Produced from 25 year old vines, the 1997 Chablis Vaudésir has smoky mineral aromas and a magnificient medium-to-full body crammed with lemony white fruits, hazelnut cream and minerals. 
It is opulent, extremely rich, broad, and has an impressively long and defined finish. 
This intense and flavorful wine should be consumed between 2000 and 2006.

The 1997 Chablis Preuses (crafted from 55 year old vines) reveals poached pear and toasty scents (an attribute of the Preuses vineyards, even if the wine was never aged in wood). It is oily ("glycerin heaven" was the description in my notes), packed with flinty minerals and luxurious. This  balanced yet opulent-textured and full-bodied wine is magnificently concentrated, deep and powerful. Projected maturity: 2001-2007.

I adored Billaud-Simon's 1997 Chablis Les
Clos. Its complex and tight aromatics reveal loads of minerals, flint, clay and sea shells. 
It is masculine, hugely dense, offers super-ripe apple flavors (reminiscent of Moll's Apple Sauce), yet is as dry as the Sahara. This spectacularly rich, thick, fresh, yet brooding wine is velvety-textured, full-bodied, and possesses an exceedingly long finish that  exhibits flint, stone and chalk flavors. Anticipated maturity: 2003-2010.

Robert J. Parker

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