Domaine Francois Raveneau
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A true legend of Burgundy, not just Chablis, Raveneau has made their name on whip-smart farming, hand-harvesting, but the house will cease at nothing to achieve perfection. The yields are microscopic as the vines are kept neatly trimmed to limit the number of clusters. In the cellar, all fermentation occurs in barrels and the wines are kept on the lees for a longer elevage. The old vines of Raveneau reward great patience, as with time these bottles only increase in greatness; follow the Aubert de Villaine rule of thumb here: drink within the first 5 years or don't touch them for another fifteen!
In the mid-20th century, Francois Raveneau quietly assembled what became the backbone of the most legendary Chablis house we've ever known. What Francois realized and his children, Bernard and Jean-Marie have come to know is that the old vines should be preserved at all costs, as they are what sets this great domaine apart. Every winter, the vines are cut back greatly to reduce the amount of clusters per vine, so that the vines may concentrate all energy on fewer berries, thereby increasing the complexity further. Treatments are all natural in the vineyard, and the fruit hand-harvested to allow the finest grapes making it to the press without any damage.
In the winery, Bernard's daughter Isabelle oversees the winemaking; after pressing, the juice is allowerd to settle for 24 hours. From there, the fermentations will occur in barrel, where the resulting wine is allowed to remain on its lees and go through malo-lactic conversion. A year in feuillettes, barrels half the size of a barrique, will follow; these are not new at all (6-8 years' average age), as it is not to impart a wood flavor but a texture and allow better oxygen interchange.
All told, Raveneau is very much in the camp of DRC, Lafon, or any other producer whose reputation is bulletproof as a certified A-Lister beyond reproach. The only problem is that we can never get enough of these delicious wines that are splendid with food, and just as special to sit and ponder over.
