2011 Chablis Mont de Milieu
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Tasting notes
Billaud-Simon's 2011 Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu is undoubtedly a pretty wine, but tasting it after the Montee de Tonnerre does it no favors. A more textured, fruit-driven style of Chablis, the Mont de Milieu is all about volume and pure fruit. Honey, almonds, nectarine and tangerine peel all meld together in a plush, inviting Chablis. There is a lot to like in the 2011, even if it isn't quite as thrilling as the best wines in this range. I would prefer to drink the 2011 over the next few years to get the most of the wine's resonant, expressive personality.
Critic scores
Average Score
Allen Meadows, Burghound
David Schildknecht, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Rendered just under half in barrique and from vines planed in 1952, the Billaud-Simon 2011 Chablis Mont-de-Milieu Vieilles Vignes displays resinous, pitchy aromatic overtones as the scents of wood get on top of those one would otherwise expect. Apple and lemon with bitter hints of pip and an oily, pungent textural adjunct fortunately preserve a certain amount of fresh fruit through a finish that sizzles with impingements of citrus oil and pips, radish and resin. I would plan on drinking this within the next couple of years, being skeptical as to whether the primary juiciness will long prevail. When I last visited Bernard Billaud on a June day for my issue 191 report focusing on vintage 2008, he agreed for the first time to show me his young grand crus in advance of bottling and alongside the premier crus that I was used to tasting at that season of the year. Unfortunately, he made emphatically clear on this most recent occasion that such would not be the case; indeed, I was not offered any of the 2012s to taste, but instead the full 2011 collection, and a report on Billaud-Simon’s 2012 will have to wait for next year, before which, in any case, they will not have been put on the market. (In keeping with existing conventions at The Wine Advocate – and seeing that there are modes of vinification in common and only one overlap in cru designations – I have not indicated as part of each wine’s description whether or not it relies entirely on domaine as opposed to contract fruit.) Imported by Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900
(bottled in December of 2012): Pale green-tinged yellow. Aromas of lime, white flowers and peppermint. Then sweet and easygoing in the mouth, in a distinctly softer style than the nose would suggest. Ripe, fat pineapple, pear and spice flavors are perked up on the back end by a peppery element. Can't quite match the Tete d'Or for energy or grip, though.
Green vegetation on the nose. Fresh and cool but a bit spindly. (JR)