Raveneau Mini-Verticals--Les Forêts and Montée de Tonnerre

• 2012 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Medium color. Waxy apple and pear, slight oyster shell. Medium body, moderate wood. Sweet fruit, only average acidity, and excellent soil on the end. Approachable and tasty, but it could really use more focus and cut.

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• 2011 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light yellow. More herbs and sea breeze than the '12. Lighter weight than that wine, more crystalline and less obvious oak. Not as fruit driven, but tart green apple toward the finish. Light and bright-very good.

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• 2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light yellow. More brothy, saline aromatics. Rich entry, sweet apple fruit. Leaner than the 2011 but with some glycerine and wood. Excellent mineral back end. A second bottle was finer with sharper cut.

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• 2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light greenish yellow. Spearmint and floral aromas. Bigger, rounder entry with Raveneau hazelnut. A bit exotic featuring pear and honey rather than citrus. Nice dry finish, but this still strikes me as too fat.

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• 2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light yellow green. Pungent lemon and flowers. Very bright orange fruit, silky feel. I wonder whether this actually has a bit of residual sugar. Good depth, soil filled finish, but relatively little salinity. Big but not particularly fine at this point.

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• 2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Light yellow. Nice combination of white flowers, citrus oil, and salty aromas. Big juicy wine that retains a sense of delicacy. Lovely purity of fruit, more acidity and soil than the 2010, and a rush of finishing minerality that brings a welcome dry finale. Long, outstanding, and to my surprise, I preferred this to the '10 tonight. Best of the 8 wines tasted.

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• 2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Medium yellow. Sulfur, lemon, and oyster shell. Light weight, most angular of these wines. The earliest hint of truffle, some mid-palate orange peel, harsh finish that is full of soil. Not at an easy stage to taste now, and confusing in that some elements are more advanced and mature while the overall structure suggests that it needs more time to soften up.

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• 2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Medium yellow. Trace of sulfur and pineapple. Very round and rich, beautiful texture and depth of citrus fruit. Some soil and attractive inner mouth florality, but I must say that this very little Chablis character. More like Mâcon in a way.

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I don't know if it was me or the wines, but not a particularly strong showing for this group of Raveneaus. The Montée de Tonnerres seemed clearly superior to the Forêts flight, but relatively few of the wines truly excited or displayed an essentially taut Chablis structure. Strange.