WineDr: Day 2-Chablis

After Minet helped us get our cars down his steep, icy hill and zoomed around us in his little French car we drove about 45 minutes to Vezelay which is a town that is part of Burgundy proper, but not technically part of the Chablis appellation. However, because the soil is the same Kimmeridgian clay found in Burgundy and now has its own Bourgogne AOC designation called Bourgogne Vezelay. We stopped at Domaine de la Cadette and were greeted by several vintners, including wine rock star, Bernard Ravenau. To start off, we tasted the wines of Jean Montanet of Domaine de la Cadette.

2008 la Cadette Bourgogne Chardonnay - really good minerality and acidity
2008 Bourgogne Vezelay - Steely minerality, just the way I like it.
2007 Bourgogne Rouge - good easy drinking Pinot Noir

Jean Montantet of la Cadette there on the left and Olivier Savary on the right.

Next we tried the wines of Roland Lavantureux. He makes a Petit Chablis which is an AOC that lists areas around the outskirts of Chablis. Most of his vines border premier cru vineyards in Chablis proper. Petit Chablis is typically from younger vines.

2008 Petit Chablis - This wine is unoaked and was very lush and great for the money!!
2008 Chablis 'Vielles Vignes' - Old vine Chablis is always a good thing.

2008 Domaine Costal- A Chablis project between Kermit and Ravenau..it was really good, but a little creamy for my taste. Appley, minerally, tropical fruit.

Roland Lavantureux

Yes, that is a 1997 Chablis from Roland Lavantureux that was drinking beautifully.

The next winer we tried was Domaine Savary (you see Olivier Savary in the pictures above). I have always enjoyed his Chablis and it was fun to get to taste the new vintage and meet him.

2008 Chablis (Really mushroomey with that hint of banana that I love)
2008 Chablis 'Selection Vielles Vignes' - from 35-40 yr old vines
2008 Fourchame Vineyard Chablis - Premier Cru

Finally we ended with the rock star of Chablis, Bernard Ravenau. Considered by many (and now myself) to be the leader in winemaking in Chablis, his yields and production are so ridiculously low that huge companies in the states are fighting over splitting 4 and 5 bottles of his wine. This may be something we never see in Oklahoma, but if you are traveling abroad and see a Bernard Ravenau Chablis on the list, do yourself a favor and get it. It is worth it. Our tasting of his wine consisted of Premier Cru and Grand Cru vineyards and I felt very fortunate to try these wines. Bernard and his daughter helped prepare lunch for us, but the food was brought in by Mark Menaut, a 3 star chef. The highlight was getting to drink a 1993 Ravenau Clos and eat these oysters with watercress, seawater gel and some kind of shallot cream cheese underneath. You talk about heavenly food and wine combinations, this was unbelievable, simply unbelievable.

Tasting:
2007 Raveneau Foret-1er Cru-last area harvested, low yields, high maturity levels...notes of honey
2007 Raveneau Butteaux-1er Cru-citrus, pears, apples, minerals, incredibly long finish
2007 Raveneau Montes de Tommerre-1er Cru-much more earthy than the last with green apple and flint-shorter finish and more acidity
2007 Raveneau Blanchot-Grand Cru-very, very subtle wine, really soft in the mouth, heaven in a glass
2007 Raveneau Valmur-Grand Cru-Really tight and beautiful
2007 Raveneau Clos-Grand Cru-best Chablis vineyard I've ever tasted