HDH Raveneau Tasting

MK Restaurant - Chicago, IL
Tasted Friday, October 25, 2013 by tooch with 615 views

Introduction

Great tasting of ~15 Raveneau wines. Mostly young bottles, this was a great opportunity to try a wide range of vineyards and vintages. Thanks to HDH for hosting the event and the staff at MK for preparing great finger food (i.e. oysters) for the guests.

Flight 1 - 1er Cru Chapelot (2 Notes)

  • 2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Beautiful, saline-driven nose with bright, sweet, lemon. The sweet lemon note was certainly something all of the 2005s were giving off. Even with the sweeter note, this is classy, elegant, and YOUNG. Lots of great minerality to go with just the right amount of acid.

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  • 2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Dense nose of salty water, lush lemons, and limes. Complex and layered, this was already a classy wine. Given the heat of the vintage, the acid was a touch lower, but jeez louise, was this beautiful.

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Flight 2 - 1er Cru Butteaux (3 Notes)

  • 2005 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 92 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    Somewhat sweet and tart nose of lemons, and an earthy mushroom note. Palate was a bit fatter, but fat with Raveneau is still (usually) amazing. Takes on more of a Puligny weight. Has a lot of time ahead of it.

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  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    An amazing wine, albeit young. Like a basketball phenom you see in high school and can see greatness, this wine was like that. Some of the characteristics weren't perfectly balanced at this point (picked up a lot of sulphur on the nose), but the raw material was spectacular. I think the purity and freshness of the fruit really struck me as otherworldly - the 2007 Raveneau's are epic.

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  • 2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

    The 2009 Raveneau's are a bit fleshier, but are drinking so well already. No need to hold these (like the 2005/2007/2008s) as they're already drinking incredibly well. Definitely richer than other vintages, but never gummy, slick, or overly sweet. A perfect, young, Raveneau.

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Flight 3 - Blanchot (3 Notes)

  • 2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 91 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Wasn't giving off all that much to me aromatically. Some fruit tones; limes, lemons...but they were firm and cool. Totally fine, just young. The palate had more going on with a very fresh lime and seawater profile. I think the 2008s are going to be magic, but they're a bit closed down at this point.

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  • 1995 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Very savory, and salty with a good deal of meyer lemon, and lime flavors. Tons of layers of white floral notes, mushroom, lots of spice and more lemons. Loved its briny character. Just a wonderful Chablis.

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  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Another stunning 2007 from Raveneau. Intensely precise and cool, this has tons of balance, depth and complexity. It has a bit of the gun flint note on the nose that you'd more normally expect from Puligny or Meursault...but it fit in nicely here. What a powerful wine.

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Flight 4 - Valmur (3 Notes)

  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 96 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    A superstar. Sexy and dense aromas of flint, lemons, limes, salt, and seawater. Despite the power of the nose and palate it retains a beautiful elegance. Had a number of oysters with this and talk about perfect. Hard to ask for much more.

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  • 2003 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 93 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    A real surprise for me. Incredibly balanced, edgy, layered chablis. Wonderful aromas of the salty, mushroomy, citrusy notes that you come to expect. Certainly has the vintages plushness, but what acidity! Tons of cut and mouth watering acidity. A real beauty.

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  • 1998 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Valmur 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Tons of stuff going on here. Had a rusticity to it that the 1995 Blanchot didn't have but still retained the freshness, edge, and energy that some of the younger bottles had. Beautiful citrus notes on the nose with a lot deep secondary earthy notes. Layers and layers of fruits and florals with tons of minerality. Hard to top.

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Flight 5 - Les Clos (3 Notes)

  • 1999 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 95 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Was lucky enough to try this numerous times over the course of the night. Certainly a firm vintage of Les Clos, but what a beauty. Tons of firm mineral notes on the palate, with tons of cut and energy. The lemons and limes were intense - more intense than some of the others. Great structure to this wine - had an incredibly refreshing acidic kick on the end that gave the usually plush Les Clos fruit perfect balance.

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  • 2005 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    A really firm wine. Wasn't giving all that much on the nose. Had that same 2005 sweet lemon aroma with some white floral notes and spice. The fruit was pristine...couldn't ask for more elegant and pungent fruit, but it wasn't deep. Didn't have the complexity that the 1999 had or the exoticism that the 2007 had. This was just closed for business. Seemed like it would be quite nice with time.

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  • 2007 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Super exotic on the nose with truffle, seashell, some gunflint and lemons. Had the density of Meursault with the cut and precision of Chablis. Beautiful combination that will take another 5-10 year to really flesh out. Outside of that, it'll have a long life ahead of it. Great acidic structure on the finish with tons of layers of fruits and floral notes. Stellar.

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Closing

A real treat for me. Easy to tell that 2007 will become an absolute legend for Raveneau. Interesting to see that the 2005s are pretty shut down at this point, but overall, this was a lot of fun.

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