Wine Advisor
Raveneau, Chablis 1er Cru Montmains 2023
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Kristaps Karklins
More tightly wound and incisive than Vaillons, Raveneau’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montmains is another success. Sourced from a 0.3-hectare site—a windy place with thin, sticky topsoil—it unfurls from the glass with a bouquet of green apple, oyster shell, wheat toast and white flowers. Medium-bodied, with chalky grip and bright acidity, it concludes with a vibrant, mineral finish. If Vaillons is more horizontal, Montmains is vertical. It deserves special attention and will delight purists.
About the Producer
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.
