Bernard Billaud, along with his nephew Samuel, runs this family enterprise located along the Serein river, just outside of Chablis. The estate, which dates back to 1815, combines Grand Cru and 1er Cru vineyards of old vines, a clean, modern winery and scrupulous attention to detail. In the 1980s, Bernard convinced his father to abandon the old 645-liter vats used for winemaking (Bernard thought these made the wines heavy, fat and lacking elegance). With the new winery in place by 1991, almost all wines have been fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Oak barrels are used sparingly. The domaine produces about 9,500 cases annually from about 41 acres. In the vineyards, samule employs an ebourgeonnage in the spring, preferring to prune away buds rather than green harvest grape clusters in summer to assure riper fruit and more concentrated flavors.

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