June 25, 2023 - PNP. Lemon, honey, beeswax and some brothy tide pool elements on the nose. Palate is deep and glycerol laden, lacking a bit of acidity but showing a lovely texture and chalky mouthfeel. Very good plus.
November 19, 2021 - Delicious. Very fun to drink with Raveneau texture / signature but not overly complex. Could have had a little more acidity
July 19, 2021 - Popped and poured. Ripe nose, lemon, honey, spice and a bit of iodine. Crisp and lemon infused, maybe a bit sweet and lacking acid/cut on the palate. Lemon and some chalky limestone texture adds interest on the finish. In a great spot, shows the vintage sweetness but lacks complexity to be a great Raveneau, however still a wonderful Chablis from a ripe year.
February 18, 2021 - Decanted for 2 hours (and it could have used more). Medium yellow with some remaining green. Some persistent sulfur, tide pool iodine, tropical fruit, and faint citrus. Medium weight but without as much glycerine and textural richness as many Raveneau bottles. Guava and green apple, excellent acidity, strong salinity, and drying finish. The fruit is more in the background here, and the sulfur gives it a somewhat hard, unyielding edge. Maybe even more air and/or time in bottle will result in further improvement, but I won't find out since this is the last bottle. Right now, approaching excellent and classically built. There is no way I would have picked this out blind as a 2009, and the only thing that hints at a riper vintage is the slightly tropical nature of the fruit on the nose.
March 14, 2020 - Dîner Antidépresseur (Los Gatos, California): Still light yellow. A bit of reduction and floral tones. Medium weight, nicely lean apple and lemon. Excellent finishing soil and acidity. Beautifully taut for this richer vintage and still on the young side. Preferred to the 2009 V. Dauvissat Vaillons on this evening.
December 8, 2019 - So lovely, the epitome of a great Chablis, crushed granite-chalky minerals with a dash of white fruits, a little citrus, and balanced svelt mouthfeel that was neither too acid or flabby (quite a feet for 09). Relatively clean and pure, without being boring. Kept getting better as the night went on. Glad I kept my glass. EWG 10 (or rather 20) years on dinner.
November 29, 2019 - Dinner with friends: Blind. Lemon and gun powder, strangely mixed with some popcorn; High acid and good grip mixed with mature fruit. Almost impressive. Development ahead.
April 26, 2019 - nose - underripe peach
mouth - light lemon line, iodine, seashell, touch of spearmint. cant remember which smarty pants said it reminded them of the white smarties from trick or treating?
really elegant and classy. my WOTN. shame these have become too expensive to drink
April 23, 2019 - Pale to mid straw. A sense of richness on the nose. Attack is fairly classical Chablis, a touch more honey that usual at this age, but it’s a dry, granular take on it rather than overt sweetness. Lots of saline cut and grip too. With air the honey note is less obvious and the salinity comes through. Lovely shape. A gorgeous drink in its own right as well as alongside food. Really very good and not the overt ripeness I feared could be the case given the vintage. ****
December 27, 2018 - Honeyed tropical fruit and crushed stone aromas prelude a dense, vibrant palate with surprising acidity for the vintage. While this is showing richer, tropical notes it doesn't come across ripe at all. I'm impressed. The 2009 Vaillons is very good and should drink well for the next decade.