2023 Domaine François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru "Montée de Tonnerre" 6-Pack

One of the calling cards of the estate and the largest cuvée by volume, Raveneau’s 2023 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre is composed of two-thirds lieu-dit Chapelot and one-third lieu-dit Pied d’Aloup, uniting the broader, more textural personality of the former with the taut, mineral profile of the latter. Soaring from the glass with a bouquet of white flowers, orange zest, pear and crisp stone fruit, it’s medium to full-bodied, ample yet tensile and racy, concluding with a long, expansive finish. When it comes to Forêt, I tend to prefer Dauvissat’s interpretation, but it’s difficult to find a finer Montée de Tonnerre than the one produced by Raveneau. Domaine Raveneau is one of the greatest estates in Chablis. This small 10-hectare domaine is one among a handful of bastions of artisanal winemaking in a region that embraced industrial winemaking with open arms, and it remains a beacon for connoisseurs of classical white Burgundy all over the world. In the era of premature oxidation, Raveneau’s wines have also emerged as some of the most dependable prospects for extended cellaring. A generational transition has been quietly effected: Bernard Raveneau retired on January 1, 2020, and was replaced by his daughter Isabelle; and Jean-Marie Raveneau retired on May 1, 2021, and was replaced by his son Maxime. Neither plan to change a tried-and-tested formula, and both are intimately versed in the domaine's secrets, so the future is secure.(KK)

Isabelle Raveneau’s 2023 Montée de Tonnerre is a stunning wine in the making. While still very young, the wine is already beautifully expressive aromatically, offering up scents of pear, lemon, a touch of tangerine, a complex foundation of chalky minerality, citrus zest, beeswax and a touch of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, complex and shows of superb depth of fruit at the core, with fine mineral undertow and grip, a superb girdle of acidity, laser-like precision and a very long, youthful and seamlessly balanced finish. The backend lift here is outstanding. (Drink between 2030-2070)