I am back among the Azaleas in North Carolina after a truly magical week in Burgundy. While not as prolific as Mr. Holmes, I thought I’d share a few vignettes, starting with a pair of Raveneau.
My very first wine of the trip was a 2014 Raveneau Butteaux over lunch in Chablis. This was an eventful bottle 
. I had wrote ahead to have the wine steward pop this 90 minutes before my reservation, but even so, on pouring an initial half glass the wine was still fairly closed and muted on the nose. Within 15 minutes, the chalk and minerals actually showed up first. Indeed, my favorite glass might have been my 2nd pour, with the fruit still taking its time to show off and the chalk & mineral finish in an exquisitely clean presentation.
When the Fruit came, however, it came like a Tsunami upon the beaches. Lapping waves of ripeness exploding out of the glass, the corresponding oak overwhelming the minerals on the finish. I would say it took another hour, minimum, for the wine to sort of re-equalize (along with some cold air; Le Maufoux has a courtyard which I could slide in and out of in the 60 degree Spring air and take my son out to play).
The last two glasses were quite nice, although the balance was pretty hedonistic rather than restrained. (Chuckles) It was charmingly bemusing to have a Raveneau as rambunctious as my son.
I suppose it depends on one’s stylistic preference, but I’d recommend a good 5+ years of age from this ripe vintage. I talked with and shared a glass with a couple of Danish wine industry folks who had tried a different bottle the day before but without similar bottle prep. They’d been forlorn to have only gotten the closed phase.
The 2011 Raveneau Butteaux was a marked contrast later in the week, consumed in a lovely home in Beaune. A very classical Butteaux and ready to shine. Essentially popped and poured. Like a well-crafted pop song, it was easy but sophisticated. Crisp, balanced, clean on the finish. Well-integrated fruit. Definitely in a cozy pocket of its maturation.
As for Chablis, itself, driving around the southern hills and the long grasses waving in the wind was very meditative & joyful. Rue de Butteaux is a magical drive with the sun shining and the windows down.