2019 Chablis, Montée de Tonnerre, 1er Cru, Samuel Billaud, Burgundy

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

Montée de Tonnerre in Chablis, Burgundy, is a prestigious Premier Cru vineyard enjoying ample sunlight on a southwest-facing slope. The wines showcase enticing citrus and white flower aromas, with a harmonious balance of acidity and rich fruit flavours on the palate. They pair beautifully with seafood and poultry dishes and age gracefully, exemplifying Chablis' winemaking heritage.

The brilliantly talented Samuel Billaud was finding family politics hard going, so he has now founded his own wine label in Chablis separate from Domaine Billaud-Simon. As far as we are concerned, the talent lies in the person and not the history, so we are delighted to have taken a small position with Samuel’s own wines. He does not own the vineyards but he does manage them, as well as crushing the grapes and vinifying the wines. We can certainly recognise his style in these offerings.