Chablis Tasting at a collector's home

The theme of this tasting was to compare Raveneau's and Dauvissat's Les Clos with some age on them. We chose the 2008 and 2012 vintages. All wines were decanted 3-4 hours, and from my perspective the wines improved with more air. The prewine was a Raveneau 2014 Montmains that was served blind.

Prewine, served blind. I guessed a Raveneau from 14 or 15

• 2014 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Monts Mains 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served double blind. Wine D. My 1st, Groups 2nd rank wine. Pale yellow. Sea brine, broth, oyster shell and lemon on the nose. This wine has a rich palate, deep and complex. Finishes slightly astringent, chalky and drying. Still a baby. I guessed 14/15 Raveneau.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

Les Clos from arguably the 2 best producers in Chablis and the best vineyard. The wines at the time of the tasting had 10 and 14 years of bottle age. All wines were served blind.

• 2008 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine E. My 1st rank, groups 1st rank. Pale yellow. This is a Raveneau nose, waxy, some funk, sea breeze, iodine, lemon and sage spice. Slightly exotic, with a rich deep palate that is a touch ripe but oozes juicy fruit on the long chalky finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2012 François Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 96 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine F. My 2nd rank, groups 4th rank. Pale yellow. Honey, sea breeze and a lovely spicy element on the beautiful nose. Deep, ripe lemon infused fruit, balanced acidity and fresh chalky finish.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2012 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine G. My 4th rank, groups 5th rank. Pale yellow. Lemony goodness on the nose, balanced by some oyster shell. Deep palate, crisp and most structured of the flight, with lots of energy, very drying on the grippy finish. This wine was served in the same flight at the Dauvissat-Camus Les Clos (not Dauvissat), and to my palate was an identical wine (I ranked them 3rd and 4th). Some people claim that the Dauvissat-Camus and Dauvissat wines are "different", contrary to what Burghound says. (He says same wine, different label only). Based on this tasting, the wines appear to be identical.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2012 Dauvissat-Camus Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine H. My 3rd rank, groups 4th rank. Pale yellow. Lemony goodness on the nose, balanced by some oyster shell. Deep palate, crisp and most structured of the flight, with lots of energy, very drying on the grippy finish. This wine was served in the same flight at the Dauvissat Les Clos (not Dauvissat-Camus), and to my palate was an identical wine (I ranked them 3rd and 4th). Some people claim that the Dauvissat-Camus and Dauvissat wines are "different", contrary to what Burghound says. (He says same wine, different label only). Based on this tasting, the wines appear to be identical.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2008 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

  Decanted for 3 hours, served blind in a flight of 08/12 Les Clos, Wine J. My 6th rank, groups 6th rank. Deep yellow. Advanced nose, not pre-moxed by darn close. Apple and orchard fruits on the nose. Rich and flabby palate, minimal acidity and structure. Drink up.

  Read 1 Comment / Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

For my palate, at least for these 2 vintages Raveneau made a more complete wine from the Les Clos vineyard. It is a richer expression of the vineyard, but also more balanced and classic. It is very concerning that the 2008 Dauvissat Les Clos was advanced/premoxed. On the other hand, the Raveneau's were both too young, and benefited from 4 hours of decanting time. I ranked the Raveneaus first and second, they were actually pretty easy to pick blind as the combined nose and palate presence has a unique signature of honey, sea breeze, lemon and iodine followed by a slightly richer and "waxier" palate. Both wines were pale yellow, and just starting to be ready to drink. I think in another 5 years the 08 will be at peak, the 12 might need longer.

A note on the 12 Dauvissat Les Clos. I have consistently been able to buy the Dauvissat-Camus bottles anywhere from 10-30% cheaper than the Dauvissat bottling, despite the insistence by critics that the wines are identical just different labels. To see for ourselves, we included both versions of the 2012 in this tasting. For my palate they were identical, I slightly preferred the D-C (I chalk this up to bottle variation), but was able to identify the 2 bottles as the Dauvissat wines.