2014 - Chablis 1er Cru Montee de Tonnerre, Francois Raveneau

The 2014 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre confirms its status as one of Raveneau's best renditions of this site over the last two decades, unfurling in the glass with a textbook bouquet of lemon oil, crisp green orchard fruit, oyster shell and anise, framed by light reduction that dissipates in the glass. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, elegantly glossy and seamlessly layered, with excellent concentration and tension at the core, concluding with a long, precise and penetrating finish. This wine is evolving at a glacial pace and is still far from reach its peak, but its quality is impossible to miss.

I am surprised to see the the 2014 Chablis Montée de Tonnerre 1er Cru from Raveneau so open and expressive. Usually a much steelier, tightly wound wine, especially in its youth, the 2014 is wonderfully expressive, with a good bit of mid-palate richness and depth to play off the more seashell/mineral-drenched notes are so typical. Raveneau’s Montée de Tonnerre is one of my favorite wines from any region. On this night it dazzles.