Raveneau's 2007 Premier Crus and Valmur

All of these wines were pale with barely any perceptible color differences, so I have not mentioned their appearance.

• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Forêt

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Deeply pitched ripe citrus. Light bodied, delicate, well focused core of bright orange, strong mineral streak running through the wine into the finish. Higher tones in the back of the mouth. Beautiful degree of ripeness. This left much more of an impression than the Foret usually does.

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Monts Mains

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  More chalky and saline right off than the Foret. A bit fuller than that wine and also looser, with slightly lower perceptible acidity, and less mineral. Tangerine fruit with a splash of bitters. Comes across as more tart than most of the other wines and does not possess the magical sweet/sour balance found in the others. Monts Mains is generally my least favorite of the Raveneau crus, and so it was today, but there is still plenty to like here.

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  White flowers, lemon, and a touch of wood on the nose. Medium weight. Wow, this is incredibly silky and smooth for young Chablis. Despite leaning toward lemony fruit, its remarkable acid/sugar balance gives a sense of sweetness to the fruit anyway. Long finish that is full of soil and has some appropriate austerity for its age. Brine also becomes more prominent in the finish, which is surprisingly powerful. Fantastic Vaillons.

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Minty, green aromatics with other spices showing up later. Medium weight, not that much different from the Vaillons, but this has an incredible sense of dry extract which gives the wine a completely different feel in the mouth. The fruit has more of a crabapple quality than citrus. Overall, the impression is that this is dry, backward, serious, and rather stern compared to the rest of the range. Bitterness, great dirt on the back end, and the finish shows impressive reserves of well concealed acidity. Today, I preferred this to the Montee de Tonnerre and thought that it even gave the Valmur a run for its money. Great Premier Cru.

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  More floral than almost any other wine and the only one to hint at any sulfur. This was misplaced after the Butteaux in that it was almost weightless in comparison. Fabulous cut, intensity, and minerality with orange spectrum fruit. Again, I'm amazed by the uncanny subtle sweetness that is held in check by the great structure underneath. Essentially delicate but lovely palate coverage and expansion in the mouth.

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• 2007 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Complex, powerful, hard to describe nose with some toasty wood. This has another weight and texture altogether-round and full but with glorious acidity to bind and carry it to the end. This is the most painful, mouth puckering, enamel challenging wine of the bunch (although the cumulative dental effect of all the acidity was starting to take its toll by this point in the tasting). Lemony fruit clings and has an austere edge. This should be heroic, but I wonder how much better it will turn out than the Butteaux.

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Well, a range that is priced at such a premium compared to its peers should, by all rights, be a tour de force. This was. It seems as though Raveneau did everything right in this vintage. The purity, clarity, and above all, the amazing dance between sugar and acidity in these wines were exhilarating. I honestly cannot recall tasting through a better set of young Chablis from a single producer. Most of the wines exceeded expectations based upon past vintages, and the Butteaux was a particular star for me today.