2019 Chablis, Montée de Tonnerre, 1er Cru, Domaine François Raveneau,Burgundy
Critics reviews
The Chapelots has been included within the Montée de Tonnerre this year. Pale primrose, a little reduction on top of the yellow fruit. Cleans up quickly in the glass. A little bit of lemon zest with the fresh plums. More weight at the back of the palate, all the requisite tension. Very good.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (July 2020)
A discreet, even timid nose speaks of markedly cool, airy and admirably pure aromas of high-toned floral wisps, iodine and plenty of oyster shell and tidal pool nuances that are trimmed in just enough wood to mention.
The racy, mineral-driven and ultra-refined middle-weight flavours possess the finest and most delicate texture in the entire range, all wrapped in a strikingly long and strikingly layered finale. This is textbook MdT and a genuine knockout.
Drink from 2031 onward
Allen Meadows, Burghound.com (October 2021)
The 2019 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru presents an intense bouquet of fresh mint, dill and crushed stone aromas. The palate is very concentrated, dense and weighty, with a slightly more viscous texture than the Butteaux. Notes of dried honey, stem ginger, and a pinch of white pepper appear on the finish. This big, bold Montée de Tonnerre is for the long term.
Drink 2026 - 2050
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (June 2021)
Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus zest, nutmeg, fresh hazelnuts and white flowers, framed by a deft touch of youthful reduction, the 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is medium to full-bodied, satiny and enveloping, with a ripe and fleshy core of fruit that's underpinned by racy acids and chalky structure. As in 2020, the Montée de Tonnerre is something of a baby Clos.
Drink 2025 - 2055
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (July 2022)
About this WINE
Domaine Raveneau
Domaine Raveneau is Chablis's finest producer. Jean Raveneau has 7 hectares of vines and produces beautifully crafted wines from three Grands Crus (Blanchot, les Clos and Valmur and four Premiers Crus (Montée de Tonnerres, les Vaillons, Butteaux and Chapelot) All the grapes are hand harvested (one of the very few remaining growers in Chablis to do so) and Jean Marie prefers to pick early rather than late, with the aim of preserving the grapes' acidities.
The grapes are fermented in stainless steel vats and the wine are then aged in large oak feuilletes (the barrels have an average age of 7-8 years) for 18 months. Very low yields allied to meticulous wine making techniques are what make these wines so highly prized. They are renowned for their pure, racy minerality and rich, honeyed fruit, as well as for their ageworthiness - it would be a pity not to let them have the five to ten years in the cellar that they need to reach their sublime best.
Chablis Premier Cru
Chablis Premiers Crus are stylish, minerally wines which, typically, are less intense than the Grand Crus but finer and longer-lasting than basic Chablis. They are highly underrated with the better examples outclassing many a good village white Burgundy.
The vineyards cover 750 hectares, scattered across 15 communes on isolated slopes with good exposure. There are 17 principal Premiers Crus but in total 79 vineyards are eligible, with most of the lesser-known ones using a more familiar umbrella name on their label. The best flank the Grands Crus on the north bank of the River Serein, like Montée de Tonnerre (probably the best of all), Fourchaume and Mont de Milieu.
Those just south of Chablis, like Vaillons, Montmains (especially Les Forêts) and Côte de Léchet are also good. With the vineyard area having doubled since the 1970s, quality varies enormously so, as ever, the producer is key.
Styles also vary, with some maturing and fermenting in stainless steel for a purer, more minerally style, while others age and sometimes even ferment their wines in oak for extra complexity. The best examples reach their apogee at eight to 10 years, but are normally enjoyed long before then.
Recommended producers: Jean-Claude Bessin, Billaud-Simon, Séguinot-Bordet, J.-P. & Benoit Droin, Duplessis, Defaix
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or.
Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.
It is quantitatively important in California and Australia, is widely planted in Chile and South Africa, and is the second most widely planted grape in New Zealand. In warm climates Chardonnay has a tendency to develop very high sugar levels during the final stages of ripening and this can occur at the expense of acidity. Late picking is a common problem and can result in blowsy and flabby wines that lack structure and definition.
Recently in the New World, we have seen a move towards more elegant, better- balanced and less oak-driven Chardonnays, and this is to be welcomed.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
The Chapelots has been included within the Montée de Tonnerre this year. Pale primrose, a little reduction on top of the yellow fruit. Cleans up quickly in the glass. A little bit of lemon zest with the fresh plums. More weight at the back of the palate, all the requisite tension. Very good.
Jasper Morris MW, InsideBurgundy.com (July 2020)
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