Staff Notes:
"Situated at the top of Chapelot and made mostly in stainless steel with a 20% barrel influence, this is a chiselled, limestone thrill! Tense with acidic precision and tugging, chalk overlays, this plays hide-and-seek with stone fruits and savory tones. Best to wait a few to many years to allow the flavors to catch up to the structure." 94 Christy Canterbury MW, TimAtkin.com

"Always a first class cuvée chez Samuel Billaud, the Montée de Tonnerre in 2020 offers a gorgeous crisp pale colour, with real tension throughout. The nose is a bit backward, a pleasing flesh to finish, but the core is absolutely there. The light strawberry touch as well. Maybe not quite so persistent? Oh yes it is." 92-95 Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com

"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. Having parted ways with Domaine Billaud Simon, Samuel Billaud established his own state-of-the-art winery in central Chablis in 2009, and he has rapidly emerged as one of the town's best half-dozen producers, crafting wines characterized by textural seamlessness and unerring precision. Working with four hectares of organically farmed estate vineyards, supplemented by purchased grapes, manual harvesting of ripe but bright fruit is the rule here, followed by fermentation at 16 to 20 degrees Celsius in tank or inconspicuous wood, then maturation for 15 to 18 months on the lees for the premiers crus and grand cru bottlings. The 2020 vintage is another fine success, though readers will have a hard time choosing between the last half-dozen or so vintages at this address, so completely has Billaud realized each year's potential." 93+ William Kelley, Wine Advocate

"From a 0.45 ha holding in both Montée de Tonnerre proper and Chapelot. 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." 91-94 Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

"Typical Montée de Tonnerre, with an elegant palate yet full of concentration and energy. Manages to be both rich and weighty, yet with lots of finesse and drive. Long future ahead." 93 Andy Howard MW, Decanter

"From two plots on Haut de Chapelot and one in the namesake vineyard, the 2020 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru has quite a deep bouquet of dried honey, mineral and hints of green olive, unfolding nicely in the glass. The palate is well balanced with fine poise and crisp acidity. Elegant and finessed toward the finish, where white peach and citrus peel linger on the aftertaste. Very promising. Samuel Billaud is achieving ever-greater heights. It has been a joy to see him settle down, having first met him following the rather acrimonious division of Domaine Billaud-Simon after his family sold their shares to Faiveley. In fact, both are now making great Chablis, so consumers have probably gained from the fracas. Billaud has more or less finished work on his winery in central Chablis, just down the road from the William Fèvre tasting room, where I tasted a mixture of 2019 and 2020s. “We started picking the 2020s on August 28 and continued for around 10 to 12 days,” he explained. “You have the power of the vintage with the mineralité. It has a lot of potential. I think it will be higher in quality than 2019 because of the balance. We picked a little earlier in 2020, and I believe it is classic Chablis like 2012, 2014 and 2017.” Billaud always exudes confidence in his wines, and he has the quality to back that up. His judicious use of larger used wooden barrels for aging in various proportions with traditional stainless steel yields Chablis with plenty of terroir expression, density and tension. Highlights include a riveting 2020 Chablis Les Séchets courtesy of 80-year-old vines, and a stunning Montée de Tonnerre. Generally, I do find the 2020s potentially a little more consistent compared to the 2019s, although Billaud’s Grand Crus in this vintage are unmissable, particularly his Les Preuses and Vaudésir." 92-94 Neal Martin, Vinous