Raveneau 1er Cru Chablis Vertical Blindtasted ('83-'96)

I love these verticals of mature Raveneau. Due to a couple of faulty wines in this flight--the '83 Vaillons being very oxidized, and the promising '90 Vaillons being slightly corked--this was not as stunning a tasting as the group's Raveneau vertical last year, but the wines were still impressive. As usual, our host Tom provided some lovely cheeses, and I learned that Jarlsberg is an amazingly good pairing with mature Chablis.

Here are the introductory notes on our wines from Ross, the organizer of these twice weekly blindtastings for the past 30 years:
Francois Raveneau founded his domaine in Chablis in the late 1960s,
and he and his two sons, Jean-Marc and Bernard, have been among the
most respected white wine makers in the world since then. Most would
agree that Raveneau is to Chablis as LeFlaive or Sauzet is to
Puligny-Montrachet or Coche-Dury or Comte Lafon is to Meursault, the
"sine qua non" of their territory.

Raveneau's properties total only 14 acres, and include vineyards in
about half of the Grand Crus and several of the Premier Crus. In
Raveneau's hands, the Premier Crus rival most Grand Crus from other
producers. Their Premier Cru vineyards Vaillons, Chapelot, Butteaux,
Montmains and Montee de Tonnerre all show lovely depth and complexity
upon release and that often increase dramatically with age.

Raveneau Chablis don't really hit their stride until after their 10th
birthday, and can easily last 20-30 years. Over that time they can
become ever more intricate and complex, while undergoing a gradual
transformation away from pure lemony, slightly floral fruit to
layered themes of apples, toast, cream, minerals, sweet pea and even
a hint of bacon fat. Although Raveneau uses almost all older oak
barrels, old Raveneau can develop subtle buttery overtones
reminscent of a barrel fermented Chardonnay, while retaining the
power, focus and structure of a great Chablis.

Tonight, we'll explore how Raveneaus transform with age, tasting
examples spanning a range of 12-25 years old, covering four of their
Premier Cru vineyards and including three each from Chapelot and
Vaillons. Here's the lineup:

1983 Raveneau "Vaillons" (12.5%)
1988 Raveneau "Chapelot" (12.5%)
1990 Raveneau "Vaillons" (12.5%)
1991 Raveneau "Chapelot" (12.5%)
1992 Raveneau "Butteaux" (12.5%)
1993 Raveneau "Vaillons" (12.5%)
1995 Raveneau "Chapelot" (12.5%)
1996 Raveneau "Montee de Tonnerre" (12.5%)

Ross asked us to guess which of these was Old World and which was New. I was in a small minority that properly picked the Macon-Villages as the French wine, but only because I thought it was a Loire Chenin Blanc from a ripe year, not because I thought it tasted like a white Burg. Both decent wines, and the Schug is a good value.

• 2005 Domaine Guillemot-Michel Mâcon-Villages Quintaine 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

  Bright golden yellow color; lemon, pineapple, oak and Loire chenin blanc-like nose; ripe, sweet lemon and minerality with good acidity; medium-plus finish

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• 2005 Schug Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  Light lemon and grapefruit nose; sweet lemon and citrus palate with good acidity, a little tight on the palate at the moment; medium finish 91+ pts.

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I varied quite a bit from the group rankings on this evening, as I thought the '90 Vaillons would have been number 1, but for the touch of TCA, and I still ranked it 2nd after the '95 Chapelot, which the group ranked 2nd. The group's top score went to the '92 Butteaux, which was good, but too tight for me to rank it more than #4 in this tasting. The group also liked the '93 Vaillons a lot more than I did. It was a good wine, but I downgraded it due to its lack of a true Chablis taste profile. The badly oxidized '83 Vaillons was nearly everyone's choice for last place.

• 1992 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #1 (my #4) – 42 pts; 6 1st place votes, 5 2nd place votes, 1 third, 0 last places – Nice canary yellow color; tight cream, earth and grapefruit nose; tasty, tight lemon, sweet lemon, mineral and wheat palate with good acidity and slightly oily texture; medium finish 92+ pts.

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• 1995 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot 95 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #2 (my #1) – 51 pts; 3 1st place votes, 3 2nd place votes, 6 thirds, 0 last place votes – Bright canary yellow color; gorgeous vanilla, mineral and chalk nose; elegant, youthful, tart lemon and mineral palate with good balance and acidity; long finish 95+ pts.

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• 1993 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 90 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #3 (my #6) – 56 pts; 2, 4, 2, 0 – Light medium canary yellow color; sexy, fresh lemon and white flower nose with a touch of honey botrytis; sweet citrus, vanilla, cream and botrytis palate with a creamy texture, but more like a Puligny than a Chablis; medium-plus finish 90+ pts.

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• 1988 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot 89 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #4 (my #7) – 72 pts; 5, 0, 2, 2 – Golden yellow color; oxidized, hazelnut and mineral nose with a touch of citrus; savory, nutty, hazelnut palate with good acidity; medium sweet butter finish (Rex nailed it with the descriptor "Krug without the bubbles")

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• 1996 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre 93 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #5 (my #3) – 78 pts; 0, 2, 1, 0 – Slightly amber, golden color; somewhat savory, lemon oil, vanilla bean and grapefruit oil nose; thinner and rather precious on the palate, with tart lemon and high acid, but also depth of flavor; medium-plus finish

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• 1990 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 94 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #6 (my #2) – 91 pts; 0, 2, 2, 1 – Bright canary yellow color; more closed, sweet butter nose with a floral note, and a touch of TCA that became more evident over time; lovely, tart and layered sweet lemon and mineral palate; medium-plus finish (this was just such a complex, layered wine, and those qualities came through so clearly despite the TCA, that I had to place it 2nd; I'm sure it would have come in first with the group but for the TCA)

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• 1991 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot 92 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #7 (my #5) – 97 pts; 1, 1, 2, 3 – Light medium yellow color; herbal, deep, savory, baked apricot, kumquat and lime nose (Amit added "cooked cardamom," which was also apt); tight but complex palate of lime, tart lemon and cream with high acidity; long finish

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• 1983 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 86 Points

  France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru

  Group's #8 (my #8) – 127 pts; 0, 0, 0, 11 lasts – Medium orange color with yellow and green lights; oxidized, slightly honeyed, nut oil nose; oxidized, tart apricot palate with nutty flavors; medium-plus finish (still rather drinkable, though, for an oxidized wine)

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