2009 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Montee de Tonnerre 1er Cru
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Very pale gold. Initially closed wet stone and menthol nose shows riper notes of pineapple, marzipan and toast as the wine opens in the glass. Then plush, broad and voluminous in the mouth, with the impression of oatmeal and marzipan ripeness repeating. I don't find quite the fruity treble notes that this wine showed in the early going; this is a bit blurry compared to the 2010, in a distinctly warmer, even slightly honeyed style. Isabelle told me she expected "something a bit more heavy" but this wine appears to possess adequate acidity to go on for a while. (12.76% alcohol; 3.25 pH; 3.7 g/l acidity; from a large crop of 55 hectoliters per hectare)
Critic scores
Neal Martin
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Raveneau's 2009 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre was gorgeous in its youth, and while the wine is still drinking very well, it has begun to lose a bit of energy, so I would be inclined to start pulling corks on remaining bottles. Aromas of ripe lemon, spring flowers and Asian pear precede a medium-full, richly textural wine with chewy phenolic grip on the finish but a somewhat low-acid profile that reflects the warm growing season and harvest.
The 2009 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre is super-impressive. There is a level of detail, nuance and energy to the fruit that is quite rare in 2009. The Montée de Tonnerre possesses dazzling purity all the way through to the finely articulated, chiseled finish. This is yet another superb effort from Raveneau. I have a slight preference for the 2010 here, but the 2009 will offer fabulous drinking while its younger sibling ages in the cellar.
Pale yellow with green highlights. Reticent but highly nuanced nose combines wet stone, lemon, lavender and green pepper. Suave and lemony on entry, then quite broad in the mouth, but showing less fruit and personality today than the Butteaux. Dry, classy wine with strong acidity and a distinctly austere aspect in the context of the year. Is this as deep as the Butteaux?