Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Chapelot

This is delicious! Zingy acid balances out rich & concentrated citrus fruit. So much depth, energy and tension… an excellent bottle of Raveneau!

Raveneau MdT and Chapelot (Chicago, IL) : For my palate tonight, head and shoulders above the MdT. This is the same wine but more concentrated and with more extract on the palate. There's so much minerality that this feels chewy, tannic, bitter... I just love when white wines can manage that sort of intensity and complexity. A real saline mineral bomb, and with that citric acidity to freshen things up. One of my favourite bottles tonight, among so many...

Slightly riper than the MdT but significantly more accessible today, Raveneau's 2014 Chapelot shows a complex nose of lemon curd, tidal pool, and anise. Chalky minerality. Very good.

Il faut le laisser respirer longtemps. Nez assez discret au début, salin sur une pointe de réduction. En bouche, plus expressif. Vif, salin, coquillage et très long. Oui c’est bon. A 75$au prix de la SAQ. C’est ok si on peut mettre la main sur la distribution confidentielle. Mais est ce que cela vaut les centaines de $ du marché mondial? Non. En plus bouchon entamer au 3/4…

Fresh, vibrant, but not too young to appreciate. This strikes me as more accessible than ‘14 MdT last time tasted, a bit less power and structure but more giving today. At first, my thought was I would be inclined to drink these over the next 5 years. However, with air the volume and depth ratcheted dramatically higher. Very mouth-filling with breadth and length. I liked it from the start, but considerably more after an hour. Such a difference it’s almost …

stupendous and thrilling nose, the barrel influence is very clear but there's so much vivacity and lift and a very clear Chablis signature of salty air and crushed stones, a little something honeyed and floral too... on the palate it is dense and structured and clearly not ready, I would hold it for at least another 5 years

Montreal 2022; 9/23/2022-9/25/2022 (Montreal) : This pours light gold in the glass. The nose begins a little tight and gradually unfurls with some air time but is never massively expressive. Aromas are of beeswax, preserved lemon, dry soil, thyme and light oyster notes. The palate is really where this shines with the broad waxy fruit you might associate with Raveneau, turning to medium acid and a lovely savoury oyster liquor tinged finish. All in all this was a lovely bottle …

Even tighter than the Butteaux that we had a few days earlier. Has a pristine rainwater quality to it. There are fine citrus notes. It is so precise and sharp, but with no hard edges if that makes sense? The finish is minty fresh and so long.

Served in a Zalto universal. 1016 hPa / Fruit Pale golden. The nose on this is not shy, even on pop and pour - a crystalline array of seashells, lime, chamomile, and rich iodine. There is a touch of oak that comes and goes over 4+ hours, but feels more balanced than on a '14 MDT ~6 months back. For a riper plot than that wine, this is far more electric and acid driven. Palate is more of the same …

Very pretty, fresh lemon/lime and cream; still quite reserved on the nose. Medium bodied palate with nice fresh acidity. I would be inclined to hold these for a few more years before digging in.

Another Wine Slog Across France; 11/2/2019-11/13/2019 (Paris, Alsace, Burgundy, Encore Paris) : Pale and greenish in color. Thrilling Chablisien melange of lemon, cut white flowers, and iodine/saline elements. Medium weight, actually quite light for a Raveneau Premier Cru. While the 2015 Vaillons seemed to be 50% vintage and 50% Raveneau, this was all 2014 Chablis in its high acid, limestone, mouthwatering structure and showed very little of the Raveneau wax and hazelnut. All that one could possibly ask for would …

Dégustation Chablis 2011 : Similaire au Montmains, mais plus dense et profond. Énergique dense et très minéral, c'est une magnifique bouteille! 92-93 pts

Barrel Tasting of the 2014 Vintage at Domaine Raveneau (Chablis) : Barrel. They blend this into the Montee de Tonnerre some years. So fascinating to compare to that wine. This had bright orange scents that jumped out of the glass and was weightier and more vivacious. It just seemed to have more of everything and was fabulous.