Francois Raveneau Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru 2020

From 40-50-year-old vines, with a powerful and forceful nose displaying intriguing smoky notes. A wall of concentration on the palate, with vibrant orchard tree fruit, white flowers, great acidity, intense focus and a long, savoury, mineral aftertaste. Despite the power it’s not showy, but is terroir-driven with total purity and for the very long haul.

restrained nose immediately makes clear that it could be from nowhere else but Chablis with its array of mineral reduction, oyster shell, iodine, spice, floral and citrus aromas. There is once again excellent volume and intensity to the even more concentrated big-bodied flavors that deliver huge length on the bone-dry, austere and compact finish. This is presently a block of stone that is going to need at least some patience and a wine that should repay 15+ years of cellaring. Moreover, it is not only a candidate for wine of the vintage honors but could legitimately vie for being one of the all-time great examples of Raveneau Clos. I shudder to think at what price it will trade at but if you can afford it, don't hesitate.

Unwinding in the glass with notes of orange oil, pear, confit lemon and freshly baked bread, framed by a light touch of youthful reduction, Raveneau's 2020 Chablis Grand Cru Clos is full-bodied, layered and concentrated, with huge depth at the core and a tightly wound, muscular profile, concluding with a long, saline finish. If in many recent vintages I've had a weakness for the domaine's Valmur, in 2020 it's clearly the Clos that's the king of the cellar. An embarrassment of riches awaited me at Domaine Raveneau, where I revisited the now just-bottled 2020s and also tasted the 2019s that were mid-bottling during my last visit to the domaine. Isabelle and Maxime Raveneau began the harvest on August 28, 2020, and were happy with their choice, reporting finished alcohol levels between 12.8% to 13.5%. Bright and incisive, the 2020s have turned out brilliantly, as have the 2019s, in their somewhat richer, more muscular register. Chablis lovers will have a hard time choosing between them—and a lot of fun comparing them—over the decades to come. Readers looking for more information on this estate are directed to my producer commentary in Issue 244 End of August 2019, as well as my feature on the domaine in the End of March 2019 issue of The Wine Advocate.