2006 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Butteaux 1er Cru

Raveneau’s 2006 Chablis Butteaux signals exotic ripeness from the first whiff of pear drops and lychee. Lush, rich fruit follows on the palate, but with chalk, iodine, and wood smoke adding counterpoint and pulling one’s attention toward the particularly strong mineral dimension that is inherent in this site. Finishing with real grip, this promises a decade’s worth of fascinating evolution. Bernard Raveneau is an unabashed partisan of his 2005s – and no wonder, based on the subset of those that I tasted, including a magnificent Valmur which he rightly terms “complete” and “close to his ideal.” Raveneau is less effusive in praise of his 2006s – each of which I tasted from a selection of barrels – opining that lavish fruit and richness are precisely this collection’s fortes. I think he underestimates the depth of his own 2006s, and only hope I have opportunity to revisit some of them in five or ten years. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524

Pale, green-tinged yellow. Reticent aromas of mirabelle and iodine. Then tight but sappy in the mouth, with lovely inner-mouth perfume and lift to the lemon, wet stone and mineral flavors. This tactile, classic wine demonstrates the terroir more than it does the vintage. Colder, clay-rich soils, as is the case here and in Montee de Tonnerre, did very well in 2006, noted Raveneau.

(tasted from a one-year-old feuillatte Good pale color. Reticent citrus peel nose complemented by a grilled note. Juicy, tight and metallic; this is all cut today yet avoids coming off as hard. Finishes precise and long, with slowly mounting flavors of grapefruit, powdered stone and mint coating the palate. Less showy than the Vaillons, with a tighter grain.