Critic ratings
vinous
2017
Rating:
95
–95
The 2017 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru is a deep, powerful wine with a prominent center of stony minerality that gives the wine its distinctive personality. Dried flowers, savory herbs, citrus peel, crushed rocks and white pepper all develop in the glass. The natural power of old vines and a cool micro-climate yield a Chablis of real distinction. The 2017 is a Chablis of extraordinary class and nuance. Inward and chiseled to the core, the Butteaux is a model of classicism. I loved it.
vinous
2017
Rating:
91
–93
The 2017 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru perhaps does not quite deliver the same complexity as Raveneau’s other Premier Crus at the moment, but it is more surly and backward in style. The palate is well balanced with a hint of orange rind and quince on the entry, a delicate touch of spice (curry leaf?) on the mid-palate and fine tension towards the focused and quite persistent finish. It actually gets better as it goes along but it is the one Premier Cru that is keeping to itself in barrel.
vinous
2011
Rating:
93
–93
The 2011 Chablis Butteaux is subtle, gracious and utterly impeccable in its elegance. All the elements are simply in the right place. Articulate, energetic and nuanced, the 2011 captures all the qualities of this 1er Cru site, in miniature. This is another of the more approachable 2011s from Raveneau.
vinous
2011
Rating:
92
–94
The bigger, sturdier side of Chablis is on display in the 2011 Chablis Butteaux. The Butteaux is likely to require several years at a minimum to drink well, as some of the more angular contours need time to settle down. Still, it shows impressive depth and minerality in the classic Raveneau style, with plenty of tension, depth and class.
vinous
2011
Rating:
92
–92
Reduced aromas of ripe apple, pepper, spearmint and crushed stone. Broad and rich; less obviously mineral than the 2012 version but the ripe, intense pineapple flavor will give this wine good early accessibility. Finishes with a firm stony edge.
vinous
2011
Rating:
91
–93
(from vines high on the hillside, with a lot of clay in the soil): Bright pale yellow. Fresh but subdued aromas of lemon, menthol and minerals. Dense, saline and firm, with lovely citric cut and a spice element giving the mid-palate captivating perfume. This elegantly styled premier cru finishes long, tight and quite dry.
vinous
2014
Rating:
94
–94
The 2014 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru from Domaine François Raveneau is drinking beautifully, even though I am fully aware of committing infanticide. It is one of my favorite vineyards – and in my view, an underrated one – from a benchmark Chablis growing season. A stunning, razor-sharp bouquet offers limestone and petrichor aromas, and hints of walnut and shucked oyster shells develop with aeration. That fresh marine influence translates into a palate that displays exquisite balance and just a hint of toffee apple, closing in slightly toward the finish. There is so much tension and grace here. Brilliant.
vinous
2014
Rating:
93
–93
Crushed-rock minerality dominates grapefruit and menthol on the nose. Penetrating acidity gives this rather powerful wine a youthfully clenched quality, with its tactile grapefruit, white pepper and mineral flavors rather austere in the early going. Impressively large-scaled for premier cru but more backward than the Monteé de Tonnerre. The Raveneaus normally present their Butteaux before their Montée de Tonnerre but not in this vintage.
vinous
2014
Rating:
92
–92
Bright, pale yellow. Lovely subtle floral perfume lifts the aromas of lemon, lime, grapefruit pith and crushed stone. Thicker than the Vaillons and showing more inner-mouth perfume but this wine will still need at least a couple more years in bottle to absorb its bracing acidity. The long finish conveys and impression of finesse.
vinous
2015
Rating:
91
–93
Pale yellow. Subtly complex aromas of quinine, lemon, mint and crushed stone; even more minerally than the Monteé de Tonnerre. Offers the most inner-mouth tension by far to this point, showing a sharply chiseled quality to its grapefruit and mineral flavors. (This site does great in warm years, noted Raveneau, as the portion of the vineyard at the rather flat top of the lieu-dit faces slightly northeast.) Fined-grained, dry and classic, but with the richness of the vintage.
vinous
2016
Rating:
92
–92
The 2016 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru is terrific. I must say I am pleasantly surprised after encountering a far less impressive bottle of Montée de Tonnerre recently. Aromatic and finely delineated, the Butteaux is all charm. Citrus, orchard fruit, mint and dried herbs are all woven together in a Chablis endowed with lovely balance and a feeling of understated depth that is quite appealing. I wouldn’t wait forever on this, however.
vinous
2016
Rating:
91
–91
The 2016 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru is much more closed and broody than its sibling Premier Crus at the moment: earthy, almost mulch-like aromas developing in the glass. The palate is well balanced and quite saline on the entry, hints of blackcurrant developing in the glass with disarming poise and grace towards the finish. Give this Butteaux a couple of years in bottle at least because the aromatics will require time.
vinous
2016
Rating:
91
–93
(from 40- and 55-year-old vines): Bright, light yellow. A bit more subdued on the nose than the Montée de Tonnerre, offering scents of citrus fruits, white peach, menthol and resiny herbs. More minerally and classic on the palate, conveying a dry, tight impression to its almost minty lemon and mineral flavors. Less pliant than the Montée de Tonnerre but I like its light touch--and there's no shortage of density here.
vinous
2018
Rating:
92
–94
The 2018 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru is airy and weightless in feel. A wine that speaks in hushed tones, the Butteaux is marked by soaring aromatics, vertical lift and a decidedly ethereal personality. Crushed rocks, lime, white pepper and chalk give the Butteaux its striking upper register that is very nicely complemented by saline underpinnings that frame the finish.
vinous
2018
Rating:
90
–90
The 2018 Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru has a more oaky nose than its peers, though it is well-defined and simpatico with the fruit. The palate is well balanced with orange rind and touches of marmalade, a little Chassagne-like in style, maybe more Côte d'Or than Chablis? Still, I like the tangy spiciness on the aftertaste. Tasted blind at the Burgfest 2018 white tasting.
vinous
2018
Rating:
92
–92
The 2018 Chablis Les Butteaux 1er Cru has plenty of energy on the nose, offering scents of crushed stone and chalk, hints of fresh green apples and a touch of spice. The palate is well balanced with a superb, clean line of acidity and wonderful tension. Isabelle Raveneau remarked how well this vineyard copes with warm growing seasons due to its exposure, and you can see that in this excellent wine. Recommended.
vinous
2019
Rating:
94
–94
The 2019 Chablis Les Butteaux 1er Cru has a supremely focused, mineral-driven bouquet; traces of white flowers, white truffle and fennel come through with time. The palate is poised and delineated, revealing veins of white chocolate and slithers of white peach. A little spiciness surfaces with aeration. This is a gorgeous Butteaux, always one of my favorites from Raveneau. It will age extremely well.
vinous
2019
Rating:
92
–94
The 2019 Chablis Les Butteaux 1er Cru has more richness on the nose compared to Les Vaillons, hints of dried honey, orange pith and shaved almond emerging with time. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, very harmonious and more rounded than Les Vaillons. There is a nice touch of bitter lemon on the finish, although overall I just prefer the elegance of the Vaillons.
vinous
2020
Rating:
92
–94
The 2020 Chablis Les Butteaux 1er Cru offers intensity similar to the Montmains, but this is a little more petrolly on the nose, which is beautifully defined and very focused, developing a faint nuttiness with aeration. The palate is well balanced and conveys a sense of energy on the entry. Saline to its core, this fans out wonderfully toward the finish and feels lightly spiced on the aftertaste. Excellent.
robert_parker
2022
Rating:
93
–93
The 2022 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux has performed well, as this site and its old vines tend to in dry, sunny vintages. Unwinding in the glass to reveal aromas of green apple, oyster shell and bread dough, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, with a layered, textural profile that's underpinned by good cut, concluding with a saline finish.
robert_parker
2021
Rating:
93
–93
Raveneau's 2021 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is already drinking beautifully after another six months on cork. Bursting with aromas of sweet citrus oil, oyster shells, oatmeal, beeswax and flowers, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with a bright core of fruit that's open and expressive, concluding with a saline finish. This may not be built for extreme longevity, but it offers a great deal of pleasure in the near and medium-term future.
robert_parker
1986
Rating:
95
–95
This bottle derived from a special cuvée of Raveneau's 1986 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux that the Domaine matured in new barrels. When they didn’t like the result, the wine was bottled separately and forgotten in a garage. Then, some 30 years later, the Raveneau family allowed a local restaurant to take their pick. This was the best bottle that I’ve encountered to date, and the wood influence—which can sometimes be quite prominent—was barely discernible. Indeed, in a blind tasting, it would have been hard to tell the wine apart from Raveneau’s regular 1986 Butteaux, which is why I deem this note worthy of publication. Offering up a honeyed bouquet of mandarin, saffron, fresh mushroom and iodine, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and textural, with a lively spine of acidity, fine depth at the core and an immensely long, sapid finish. As longtime Chablis-lovers will know, Raveneau's 1986s are fabulous, as this Butteaux reminded me.
robert_parker
2018
Rating:
93
–93
My favorite premier cru in the range this year is the 2018 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux, a lovely wine that wafts from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, green apple, pear, oyster shell and pastry cream. Medium to full-bodied, taut and structured, with fine concentration and chalky extract, it concludes with a mouthwateringly saline finish.
robert_parker
2012
Rating:
93
–93
The 2012 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is still impressively youthful and tightly wound. Opening in the glass with notes of citrus zest, crisp green apple, white flowers, oyster shell and struck match, it's medium to full-bodied, concentrated and incisive, with a tangy spine of acidity and chalky grip that asserts itself on the finish. In fact, this is still five or six years from its drinking window to my taste, but it will give the 2010, 2014 and 2017 a run for their money at maturity.
robert_parker
2020
Rating:
94
–94
The 2020 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is lovely, unfurling in the glass with aromas of pear, orange oil, lemon, freshly baked bread, beeswax and oyster shell. Medium to full-bodied, taut and structured, it's a serious, concentrated wine with a lively spine of acidity and a long, mineral finish.
robert_parker
2019
Rating:
94
–94
The 2019 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux has turned out beautifully, unwinding in the glass with notions of pear, orange oil, wheat toast, confit lemon and petrol. Medium to full-bodied, textural and satiny, it's racy and concentrated, with a deep, multidimensional profile and a long, saline finish. As in 2020, Butteaux's deep, clay-rich soils seem to have been favored by the warm, dry vintage.
robert_parker
2011
Rating:
92
–92
I drank most of my bottles of Raveneau's 2011 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux too young, and more fool me, as the wine is now really hitting its stride. Offering up aromas of oyster shell, citrus oil and beeswax, the slightly herbal notes that betrayed the vintage in its youth have been transformed into scents of warm hay as this Butteaux reaches maturity. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with chalky structure and impeccable balance, it concludes with an impressively long, penetrating finish.
robert_parker
2004
Rating:
89
–90
The spiced mineral-scented 2004 Chablis Butteaux is a pretty, medium-bodied wine. Its engaging, satin-textured personality unleashes delightful spiced apple flavors. This potentially outstanding effort has lovely depth of fruit and a terrific mouth-feel. Drink it by 2011.
The Raveneau brothers were in the process of bottling their 2004s when I visited the estate in late April, 2006. “This is a vintage of pleasure, the 2004s are simple wines, they do not have a powerful constitution,” said Bernard Raveneau, who concentrates on vineyard work and handles the vinifications. (His brother Francois deals with all the tractor work as well as the administrative issues.) He reiterated what I’d heard in all of Burgundy’s cellars, that the yields had gotten totally out of control during the rain-plagued month of August. “We harvested 70 hectoliters per hectare on average across the entire estate. We’ve never seen such a plethoric vintage!”
Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524
robert_parker
2006
Rating:
92
–93
Raveneau’s 2006 Chablis Butteaux signals exotic ripeness from the first whiff of pear drops and lychee. Lush, rich fruit follows on the palate, but with chalk, iodine, and wood smoke adding counterpoint and pulling one’s attention toward the particularly strong mineral dimension that is inherent in this site. Finishing with real grip, this promises a decade’s worth of fascinating evolution.
Bernard Raveneau is an unabashed partisan of his 2005s – and no wonder, based on the subset of those that I tasted, including a magnificent Valmur which he rightly terms “complete” and “close to his ideal.” Raveneau is less effusive in praise of his 2006s – each of which I tasted from a selection of barrels – opining that lavish fruit and richness are precisely this collection’s fortes. I think he underestimates the depth of his own 2006s, and only hope I have opportunity to revisit some of them in five or ten years.
Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524
robert_parker
2002
Rating:
91
–92
The 2002 Chablis Butteaux explodes from the glass with pulp-laden apples and salty minerals. Loads of creamed almonds, sea salt, pears, and apples can be found in its boisterously flavored core. Medium-bodied and with terrific mouth-feel (like a goose-down pillow), it possesses an admirably long, expressive finish. Drink it between 2006 and 2012.
“2002 was the kind of vintage we’d love to see every year, it has excellent balance and loads of flesh,” said Bernard Raveneau. Harvest for the Raveneaus began the last week of September, and the grapes were “healthy, with between 4 and 4.5 grams of acidity (per liter), and ripe, there was no need to chaptalize.” The estate’s wines will be bottled in April and May, 2004.
I have never tasted a line-up of Chablis with the sensual textures and stunning terroir-driven flavor profiles exhibited by Domaine Raveneau’s 2002s. These are magnificent wines that I would do almost anything to own, age, and drink... Bravo!
robert_parker
2008
Rating:
93
–93
Five years ago, I encountered a somewhat soft bottle of Raveneau's 2008 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux, but this example was much better, exhibiting aromas of sweet orchard fruit, orange oil, beeswax and oyster shell, followed by a medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise palate, concluding with a chalky finish. It's drinking very well today.
robert_parker
1984
Rating:
89
–89
An impressive effort in a vintage that's generally better forgotten throughout France, Raveneau's 1984 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is a medium-bodied, taut and steely effort redolent of oyster shells, saffron, wet stones and citrus pith. Tangy and incisive, it's a wine for purists.
robert_parker
2023
Rating:
93
–95
Uniting the depth of Forêt with the elegance and energy of Montmains, the 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Butteaux is one of the most complete and seamless premiers crus in Raveneau’s range. Based on similar clay-rich soils as Forêt but at a higher altitude, it’s sourced from 55-year-old vines that produce small, concentrated berries. It wafts from the glass with a deep bouquet of grapefruit zest, wheat toast and acacia mingling with oyster shell. Layered and textural but with a tightly wound core, it’s structured around chalky extract and mouthwatering acidity, concluding with a long, saline finish.
robert_parker
1997
Rating:
87
–88
Produced from 20 year old vines, Raveneau's 1997 Chablis Les Butteaux offers hazelnut cream, floral, and mineral aromas. It is a medium-bodied, broad, pure, and silky wine with excellent grip and purity. Almonds, minerals, pine, and honeysuckle flavors can be discerned in this beautifully rendered offering. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.
Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 524-1524.
