TN: 2014 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre

Larry_Link · June 27, 2018, 4:02am

2014 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre - France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis 1er Cru (6/24/2018)
Popped and poured. Crisp lemon and sea breeze with some iodine on the nose. Very lean and energetic palate, puckering and drying with a very tightly clenched finish. Lots of potential to improve for many years. Update, saved a glass for day 2 and after 24 hours left corked in the fridge the wine was even better. Fuller and deeper flavors, the acidity had receded or more likely the fruit had opened/expanded. Wonderful vintage in Chablis and at Raveneau. (93 pts.)

Fred_C · June 27, 2018, 5:22am

Another wonderful 14. Sounds delicious! Thanks for the note Larry.

paul_hanna · June 27, 2018, 11:13am

Raveneau’s '14’s are great, the best vintage from them for a while, delicious now (with air), but still even better with time!

Dennis_Atick · June 27, 2018, 11:31am

Have yet to meet one I didn’t like. At all levels.
Nice note, Larry. Sounds great. I need more Raveneau in my life.

Ed_Gonzales · June 27, 2018, 5:41pm

i’ve only tried one bottle of 14 raveneau (clos) - i was smitten. definitely the one of the best rav i’ve had period.

Denny_Marin · June 30, 2018, 1:49pm

Had the 2012 in February off the list at Lameloise in Burgundy for $100 EU. It was delicious! Crazy how much these wines are marked up here in the States.

William_Kelley · June 30, 2018, 3:20pm

And that’s already >3x ex-Domaine pricing…

Larry_Link · June 30, 2018, 3:33pm

Is the ex-Cellar price really 30 euros?

m_ristev · June 30, 2018, 3:59pm

i have drank the 14 mdt, chapelot, and butteaux so far and by far my favorite was the butteaux. obviously all were fantastic. chapelot was the least expressive though (it was a root day i believe haha).

William_Kelley · June 30, 2018, 4:41pm

Less than that, as far as I know. The Clos is around 30.

David_K2 · June 30, 2018, 4:50pm

All well and good but…do they even let people buy at the cellar door?

William_Kelley · June 30, 2018, 4:53pm

Long waiting list, I believe.

But it’s interesting to have some sense of the extent of the markup once it leaves France.

Larry_Link · June 30, 2018, 6:18pm

I thought I did well paying $175 per bottle. From $30 at the cellar to $175 to me yields an 80% markup at each of 3 steps in the distribution chain (importer, distributor, then retailer). Crazy to think that the margin for a retailer selling the wine is greater than what the family gets.

John_Morris · June 30, 2018, 6:47pm

Don’t let Stan Stevenson or Mel Knox know you said that.

paul_hanna · July 1, 2018, 4:29am

Seen Raveneau Clos selling now for over $1,000 a bottle retail (and even more).

Now that’s a markup!

William_Kelley · July 1, 2018, 4:49pm

At that price, it’s worth coming to Chablis and its surroundings to drink a few bottles. There are several restaurants where Les Clos with >10 years bottle age is less than 130 EUR. Fewer every year, of course.

Jerry_Hey · July 2, 2018, 12:15am

At current retail I’ll pass, unfortunately, on this very good wine. There are others white burgundies I prefer that are less than half the price, and other 1er cru Chablis that, while maybe not quite at the level of Raveneau MdT, come in at $30.

paul_hanna · July 2, 2018, 1:30am

Yes,

We had every bottle we could in Britian/France earlier in the year, generally under about 120 EUR, depending.

Think we paid 120 EUR for a '14 Blanchots? Was fantastic anyway…