2011 Chablis Vaudésir Grand Cru

Bernard Billaud brought his 2011s in at the end of September, a good three weeks later than many of his colleagues. Having the patience to wait for full phenolic ripeness was the key to the vintage according to Billaud. For that, Billaud was rewarded with an exceptional set of wines. These wines boast superb energy, tension and salinity, all hard to come by in 2011. Incidentally, Billaud calls 2011 a classic Chablis vintage (one of the few people I know who holds that opinion) although he acknowledges the wines are lower in ripeness than the norm and have less overall complexity than 2010. Regardless of whether or nor the wines are classic, they are beautiful. Simply put, this is one of the most impressive ranges of 2011 Chablis I tasted.

Bernard Billaud, who is often reluctant to show the new vintage in the spring, declined to present the 2012s at the beginning of June, as he said they were mostly not finished with their secondary fermentations and were "untastable."He described his 2011s as "classic but not austere, with less richness, volume and exuberance than the 2010s," admitting that the estate made the full permitted yields."We started with good volume," he told me, "and longer elevage brought more precision."The estate's top wines were bottled in March and May of this year. Also recommended:2011 Petit Chablis (85).

Bernard Billaud told me he views 2011 as a classic Chablis vintage, one of the few producers who holds that view. The vintage started early, with flowering that was three weeks ahead of schedule. The harvest began on September 10, as opposed to late September/early October, which is much more common. Billaud likes the combination of fruit and acidity in this vintage. I tasted most of the 2011s from tank and/or barrel, except the Petit Chablis and Chablis, which were bottled in May 2012. Always eloquent, Billaud describes 2010 as a ‘grand millesime.' Vintage 2010 at the domaine was characterized by a rainy summer with little heat. On average, yields were down 25%. Billaud bottled his 2010 grand crus in May 2012.

As has been his habit in most recent years, Bernard Billaud harvested on the late side in 2011, beginning on September 10.Following light chaptalization, the new set of wines will be bottled with alcohol levels between 12.5% and 12.8%, he said, with roughly the same acidity as the 2010s (around 4 grams per liter).Billaud describes 2011 as a very good year:"The wines lack a bit of structure but will give a lot of pleasure," he explained."The wines are not as opulent as the 2010s, but less sorting was needed, as we had virtually no rot in '11."