2020  Chablis

2020  

One of my most exciting discoveries in Chablis and the Auxerrois was fledgling Domaine Clément Lavallée. Clement's father is the proprietor of a substantial, modern and mechanized domaine in Saint-Bris, but Clément's aspirations were more artisanal. He started his own label in 2019, with just 3.5 hectares supplemented by purchased fruit—a surface that's grown to 5.5 hectares today. Eschewing herbicides, he cultivates the soils with lightweight tractors and keeps chemical treatments to the minimum. Working with a variety of sites and cépages, harvest lasts a full month. In the cellar, whites see a long pressing, with Clément selling in bulk any juice that doesn't please him, and reds see long macerations with a percentage of whole bunches. Élevage takes place in used wood on the lees, and the wines are never pumped. What I tasted on this first visit indicates that Lavallée hit the ground running with his very first vintage. Textural but incisive, pure and penetrating, I was immensely impressed by these young wines - from pungently mineral Chablis, to perfumed and intense reds, to Saint-Bris that's more Auxerrois than it is Sauvignon, everything here comes warmly recommended, and I encourage importers to beat a path to this new domaine's door. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

2020  

"Taking its name from the vineyard's inclination, Lavallée's 2020 Chablis 45° reveals scents of citrus zest, white flowers, Anjou pear and fresh pastry. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and concentrated, it's elegant and penetrating, with a satiny attack and an electric finish. It's full of promise." - 90-92pts WA

2020  Chablis

"The 2020 Chablis Les Ardillers confirms the promise it revealed in barrel. Offering up notes of citrus oil, green apple, white flowers and wet stones, framed by a hint of smoky reduction, it's medium to full-bodied, with a satiny attack and a racy spine of acidity, concluding with a saline finish. This chiseled wine is fleshier and more textural than the Chablis 45°." - 91pts WA

2019  

"Interestingly, this is aromatically quite similar to the Valmur save for the presence of an abundance of floral and shellfish elements. The super-intense, indeed almost painful, broad-shouldered flavors possess evident minerality and outstanding delineation that possess a bracing salinity on the hugely long finale. This too is clearly built for extended cellaring and is going to need at least 5 to 7 before it will be approachable. In a word, excellent." - 95pts Burghound

2019  

"The 2019 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru, which I did not taste last year, offers well-defined scents of lemon sherbet, vervain tea and orange pith. The palate is vivacious and lively with a creamy texture. You might be duped into thinking there is more new oak in this cuvée, but it’s only around 5%. Taut and saline on the finish, this lingers wonderfully in the mouth. It will be difficult to resist in its youth." - 94pts Vinous

2019  Chablis

"The 2019 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru has a very pretty bouquet of yellow flowers, honeysuckle and light white truffle scents, plus a touch of flint in the background. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity. This is certainly one of the more elegant Grand Crus in 2019, displaying admirable poise and a touch of spice toward the lingering finish. Excellent." - 93pts Vinous

2018  Mont de Milieu

Mont de Milieu -- "Touches of the exotic are present in the form of lychee nut, dried apricot and white peach along with hints of petrol and quinine. The succulent and borderline oily medium weight plus flavors possess an abundance of dry extract that imparts a sappy texture to the bitter lemon finish where an interesting hint of marmalade appears. This isn't classic but it is actually quite good." - 90-93pts/Sweet Spot Outstanding -- 2018 Chablis 1er Mont de Milieu from Domaine Pinson which is one of the highest rated 1er Cru Chablis in the most recent Burghound report! It received the same exact score as Dauvissat 1er Vaillons 2018 and Raveneau 1er Butteaux 2018 (Raveneau 1er Montee de Tonnerre 2018 received almost the same exact score of 91-93). This wine scored higher than the following wines: Dauvissat 1er Sechets 2018 (90-92), Raveneau 1er Montmains 2018 (90-92).

2020  

"An elegant, admirably pure and airy nose freely offers up its aromas of green apple, lemon rind, oyster shell and iodine. There is again fine energy and detail to the equally saliva-inducing medium weight flavors that flash plenty of salinity on the complex, long and balanced finale. This too is excellent for its level." - Outstanding Top Value, Burghound

2020  

"An elegant, admirably pure and airy nose freely offers up its aromas of green apple, lemon rind, oyster shell and iodine. There is again fine energy and detail to the equally saliva-inducing medium weight flavors that flash plenty of salinity on the complex, long and balanced finale. This too is excellent for its level." - 89-92/Outstanding BH

2020  Montee de Tonnerre

Montee de Tonnerre ---- "The 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is another notable success for Samuel Billaud this year. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of white flowers, citrus oil, white currants, freshly baked bread and beeswax, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with a layered mid-palate underpinned by racy acids, concluding with a long, saline finish." - 93+pts WA ---- "Billaud noted that this will also have about 20% wood in the final blend. A restrained, elegant and pure nose displays notes of various floral influences, citrus and mineral reduction. The refined but almost painfully intense medium-bodied flavors exhibit a lovely sense of minerality that adds a sense of lift to the impressively long and well-balanced finale. Lovely." - 91-94pts/Sweet Spot Outstanding BH

2020  

"The 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos is a deep, seamless wine of considerable potential. Exhibiting aromas of freshly baked bread, citrus zest, orange oil, nutmeg and pear, it's full-bodied, rich and layered, with terrific concentration, racy acids and a long, saline finish. It's the most muscular wine in Billaud's range, but it retains faultless precision." - 95pts WA