Chablis Montée de Tonnerre, Domaine François Raveneau 2012

**Note: from a huge parcel of 2.5 ha though this figure includes the surface area in Chapelot, some of which is held out to create a separate cuvée of the same name though it was not in 2012**
A strikingly elegant and pure nose that features notes of white flowers, spiced pear, iodine and oyster shell is also trimmed in a deft touch of oak. There is remarkable concentration to the intense, driving and highly energetic flavors that exude a fine minerality on the explosively long finish. This really builds from the mid-palate before staining the palate as it fans out. Most impressive.

This wine was tasted blind at the Burgundy 2012 tasting in Beaune. The 2012 Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre from Raveneau did not quite match its inspiring performance from barrel a couple of years ago. Indeed, the aromatics seemed to just miss the complexity of Samuel Billaud’s Mont de Milieu 2012 that preceded it, yet I noticed how it meliorated in the glass and manifested engaging mineral tones. The palate is better with lemon zest and lime, well balanced with nicely integrated oak towards the fennel-tinged and slightly oaky finish that as I commented before, renders it more Côte de Beaune in style. There is clearly impressive length here, completing a fine Montée de Tonnerre that needs a few more years in bottle.