The 2014 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses has a very refined, marine-influenced bouquet with oyster-shell scents developing alongside subtle, spicy aromas. The palate is fresh, vibrant with lime and citrus lemon, the acidity providing the momentum and the energy that drives this Les Preuses along, finishing with a mineral flourish. This is superior to the 2013 at the moment and should delight many Chablis-lovers once in bottle.

(Billaud has purchased this fruit from 50-year-old vines since 2012; like the Vaudésir and Clos, this was vinified in used barrels and aged on its lees in stainless steel): Bright, pale yellow. Laid-back aromas of grapefruit, white flowers and crushed rock, complemented by spicy oak. Big, broad, horizontal wine with terrific floral lift and minerality giving it outstanding inner-mouth tension and definition. This taut, highly concentrated wine (the crop level was 35 hectoliters per hectare, the same as Les Clos in 2014) finishes tactile very dry and extremely long, with vibrant notes of wet stone and flowers. The oak element barely registers on the aftertaste. Billaud finds this wine more delicate than the Clos, which he marginally prefers for its "straight line" and greater complexity.

Relatively nutty on the nose and then absolutely bone dry. For the very long term. Lots to chew on. Pretty uncompromising at the moment. (JR)