Raveneau
It's always a good day when you see a few unsold bottles of Raveneau on the packing list for the container arriving next week. Both Montée de Tonnerre will be arriving next week. The Butteaux will arrive later this year. Not a lot of quantity — secure a few bottles today; your future self will thank you!
Note: Those that have the 2022 on order please get in touch as these will be ready to ship.
A more elegant nose freely offers up its combination of airy white flowers, wet stone, spice, citrus, oyster shell and subtle quinine wisps. As is usually the case, the mouthfeel of the vibrant middle weight flavors is positively sublime and this markedly more sophisticated texture carries over to the almost painfully intense, mineral-driven and even longer finish that is bone-dry and quite austere at present. This is a stunner of MdT and a wine that should also repay extended keeping. Like the Butteaux, if you can find it, buy it and then forget you own it for a decade, or more.
- Burghound, 94 Outstanding!
The 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is also a strong performer this year, reminiscent of a more open version of the terrific 2020. Delivering aromas of orange oil, pear and green apple mingled with hints of white flowers, buttery pastry and oyster shell, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with bright acids and a long, saline finish.
- William Kelley, 94
A more elegant, if also more restrained, nose somewhat grudgingly reveals its aromas of cool, pure and airy floral, mineral reduction, seashore, crushed fennel and quinine hints that are also set off but a subtle dollop of oak. There is a really lovely texture to the medium-bodied flavors that aren't quite as powerful as those of the Butteaux but are noticeably finer with excellent length on the balanced finale. As is often the case when this is young, it needs to develop better depth but that should certainly come with enough time in bottle. Excellent development potential here as well.
- Burghound, 93
One of the calling cards of the estate and the largest cuvée by volume, Raveneau’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is composed of two-thirds lieu-dit Chapelot and one-third lieu-dit Pied d’Aloup, uniting the broader, more textural personality of the former with the taut, mineral profile of the latter. Soaring from the glass with a bouquet of white flowers, orange zest, pear and crisp stone fruit, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample yet tensile and racy, concluding with a long, expansive finish. When it comes to Forêt, I tend to prefer Dauvissat’s interpretation, but it’s difficult to find a finer Montée de Tonnerre than the one produced by Raveneau.
- Wine Advocate / Kristaps Karklins, 94-95
Uniting the depth of Forêt with the elegance and energy of Montmains, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is one of the most complete and seamless premiers crus in Raveneau’s range. Based on similar clay-rich soils as Forêt but at a higher altitude, it’s sourced from 55-year-old vines that produce small, concentrated berries. It wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of grapefruit zest, wheat toast and acacia mingling with oyster shell. Layered and textural but with a tightly wound core, it’s structured around chalky extract and mouthwatering acidity, concluding with a long, saline finish.
- Wine Advocate /Kristaps Karklins, 93-95
