10 Vintages of Raveneau's Montee de Tonnerre
Vin, Vino, Wine in Palo Alto, CA
Tasted Wednesday, March 18, 2015 by llink with 971 views
Introduction
Great chance to taste a vertical of arguably the best Premeir Cru in all of Chablis. We tasted all vintages from 2002 to 2012 except the 2006. Sadly the 2005 was mildly corked and the 2007 showed some pre mox, but overall the wines showed very well and consistent with the lofty reputation. The wines were open about 2 hours and by the time we tasted them they were at room temperature (too warm for me).
2012 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My fourth place wine. Really sexy nose, very alluring and spicy with an intense lemony element. Almost more white burg than Chablis, with some honey and spice elements. The palate is full and rich, perhaps too much so for my taste, but its nicely tannic and chalky and has a really lively finish.
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2011 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My ninth place wine. This wine showed a little odd, with what I can describe as petrol and anise on the nose. Almost like a gin and tonic. I'm not sure if its showing the greenie meanies, but something is off. The palate was fairly precise and on the heavier side, with a good lemon spice note and long finish. Not sure about the nose, so this got knocked down quite a bit in comparison to the other wines.
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2010 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 94 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 vintages of Raveneau's MdT, poured at VVW. (02-12 excluding the 06)
This was just eclipsed by the fantastic 2002 for wine of the night, but give it a few more years and I'm guessing it would come out on top. The nose is deeper, more serious and absolutely on point with the spicy, lemony Raveneau nose coupled with some reticent maritime breeze, sea brine elements. The palate has an almost painful acidic intensity, to the point that you fear with extended swishing in your mouth you are going to be removing your tooth enamel. This has a gripping and intense palate and a long lingering finish that is a step above the other wines. It is such a unique and glorious wine. (Yes I liked this a lot).
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2009 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 91 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My fifth place wine. Lemon and minerals on the nose, with a good dose of iodine mixed with oyster shell. Showing the vintage character, this is richer and heavier on the palate with a spine of bitter lemon/lemon rind running thru the mid palate, leading to a long finish. Good but not great.
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2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My sixth place wine. This has a more meyer lemon note without any sea born fireworks. Very clean and crisp. The mouthfeel is also much lighter and very crisp and lemony with some drying citrus elements. Kind of a lightweight in the intensity department, this Chablis could have come from a number of producers not named Raveneau, well crafted but it does not have much of a wow factor.
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2007 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 89 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My eighth place wine. Starting to show some oxidation on the nose, say its not so Bernard! Flat palate, with some redeeming acidity. Bad bottle?
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2004 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 93 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My third place wine. Deep lemon spice and maritime nose, with some caramelized maturing notes that indicate this is in the plateau phase. Very expansive and deeply satisfying on the palate, perfectly mature and drinking really well tonight.
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2003 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 90 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 Vintages of Raveneau MdT 02 thru 12 (minus the 06), poured at a VVW sit down tasting.
My seventh place wine. The nose shows some funk/skunky elements, not sure if its sulphur or something microbial. Medium yellow color. The palate is clean, but unfortunately kind of flat and lifeless. There is tons of glycerol and a medium mouthfeel, kind of oily like a Hermitage Blanc. I'm not sure what this is aging on, but its holding together nicely for this very challenging vintage.
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2002 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 95 Points
France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru
10 vintages of Raveneau's MdT, poured at VVW. (02-12 excluding the 06)
This was wine of the night, as it was singing and had a wonderful balance of intensity and elegance that only aging can bring to these Raveneaus. The nose was glorious with some subdued honey spice, lemon and oyster shell in perfect harmony. The palate has a richness coupled with a really silky mouthfeel that retains its lemony acidity and mineral based liveliness but in an elegant manner that is really hard to describe. One has to experience the wine, and I can only imagine how fantastic it would be paired with some scallops or oysters. Very special tonight.
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