2023 Chablis 1er Cru Sechet Vieilles Vignes
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Tasting notes
Samuel Billaud’s Vieilles Vignes Séchet comes from vines that are more than 80 years in age, lending additional intensity. Tasted straight after the Montée de Tonnerre, it is so totally different – the wine much more aromatically expressive with white blossom, a sweet lift and the scent of just-ripe peach. There’s a transparency to the palate – with the flintiness and purity of mineral water, yet with a stony undertone and iodine edge. Satisfying, sleek and pure. Aged exclusively in stainless steel.
Critic scores
Average Score
Neal Martin, Vinous
Allen Meadows, Burghound
More reviews and scores
The 2023 Chablis Les Séchets 1er Cru has a detailed and mineral-driven bouquet that evokes images of the dark and stormy sea. This has wonderful salinity—it really benefits from no wood contact. The palate is old-school Chablis, with green apple and pear scents. It's a little strict, yet there is real depth and grip here. The 2023 is very complex and long on the finish, but it’s 100% Chablis in style. Outstanding.
The 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Séchet Vieilles Vignes has turned out beautifully, offering aromas of lemon peel, white currants, fresh spring flowers and oyster juice. Medium- to full-bodied, its layered, chiseled palate exhibits ample chalky extract, mouthwatering acidity and a long, saline finish. Tasted from barrel, I wrote that it would delight purists, and I can attest to that promise now that it is bottled.
Sweet spot Outstanding - Restrained aromas of citrus confit, iodine, spice and apple give way to strikingly textured and slightly denser medium-bodied flavors that flash evident power that builds on the bitter lemon-inflected finish that is markedly dry, sleek and balanced. The Billaud Séchet is virtually always excellent and the 2023 vintage should be no exception.
About the producer
Samuel Billaud started making wine under his own name in 2009, but he is one of the most experienced producers in Chablis, having made wine in the region since 1985.