Posted from CellarTracker
Sounds like this is more Chablis then than most 2018 Chablis?
Very Raveneau, very Chablis and very good.
My experience (albeit a small sample size) echoes Jeremy’s enthusiasm for 18 Raveneau. Les Clos, MdT (twice) and the Chablis have all been chiseled and loaded with chalky dry extract. Good volume but well balanced. Looking forward to them as 2018 is the last vintage where I was able to buy in quantity.
I’ll vouch….
Posted from CellarTracker
Excellent! I’ve already skipped various 2018 Raveneau on several occasions fearing they might be too tropical due to the vintage but will not make that mistake any more.
Had the Raveneau Chablis 2018 just two days ago, and fully agree this is on the ‘fatter’ side of the Chablis spectrum, which I like. Raveneau is an excellent producer, but that’s no news here.
Depends on how you like your Chablis, really. I had a bunch of the 2018 Raveneau recently (some of them again) at a recent dinner and didn’t find they had all that much Chablis character - what predominates is the oak (not that unexpected in a year like 2018). To each their own, of course! I love Raveneau, but not the warm/botrytis vintages.
Nice to get a differing opinion as well. I love Raveneau too and generally can handle oak but dislike tropical fruit and the lack of acidity more than anything. Chablis to me has to be savory and saline with cut.
I have no problem with new oak in Raveneau; the reason it has the spectacular smooth mouthfeel that is very specific to Raveneau is because of the oak! But I also think the new oak is a bit of a gambit - in warmer vintages Raveneau can suffer because the oak exacerbates the characteristics of the warm vintages. I am not opposed to new oak (let alone new oak) in Chablis at all - I also own lots of Fevre and some Pattes Loup, all of which use oak as well.
I went to a big vertical of Le Clos a few months ago (around 15 vintages), and a couple of the warmer vintages like 2001 were, to my palate, undrinkable. I think the oak definitely has an affect there. (2001 Raveneau has drunk that way for a while - it wasn’t a surprise.)
I’m not sure there opinions differ much here. I think I understand your point to mean that when you reach for Chablis, you want it to taste within an expected range, and Raveneau’s wines tend to be outliers. I would never describe them as steely or incisive, rather they do tend to display more tropical fruits, are pretty rich and broad on the palate, and while there are minerals and acidity (you can’t escape terroir) those aren’t the dominant features. It’s that exoticism, I think, that makes these wines so unique and sought after, but they are atypical.
A 2016 Vaillons for example is the least acidic Chablis I think I’ve ever tasted.
I haven’t tasted any 18s yet but own a few and will try to report back as Jeremy’s note sounds especially positive.
Sure but it’s still a different level of tropical/exotic than what I’ve had with say Pattes Loup or Nathalie et Gilles Fevre which have at times taken it too far for me. Everything that I have had from Raveneau has definitely fit my idea of savory and I’ve yet to have one where I felt the acidity too low.
I don’t think 2016 is as very useful comparison though - that’s just a terrible vintage for while Burgundy with some very weird wines. I’m not sure Raveneau’s style has all that much to do with it.
I also don’t think Raveneau’s wines are particular outliers; I had a reconditioned 1999 Fevre last year and called it a Raveneau blind. Didier (the winemaker at Fevre) wasn’t offended!
