2019 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru

Isabelle Raveneau began with a lament for the 2021 vintage, not the first that I had heard during my travels. “Flowering did not go well in 2021, likewise the frosts,” she said. “We have lost around 60%, even 80% in some places. You never know what that figure will be.” As is customary, I tasted the complete range of the latest vintage (2019 this year), in addition to the 2020 vintage in barrel. “The 2020 season started really early in terms of budding,” she continued. “It was a nice spring, and dry in the summer. We started picking on August 28 . We were happy with the size of harvest, a decent crop between 45 and 50hl/ha, just a little smaller than 2018. As the crop was larger than 2019, there is a crispness, and while it’s not classic Chablis, it is more classic than 2019. The 2020 is very drinkable, but such a dense vintage compared to 2019. The 2019 is more powerful than the 2020, since in 2019 there was half the normal crop due to the frost and the hot, dry summer – we lost a lot of sunburned berries. We started the harvest in early September. The wines are more powerful and concentrated, and also higher in alcohol compared to 2020. I find that there is more oak influence on the 2019s because of the smaller crop. The idea is not to flavor the wines, rather just to slowly oxidize them during the élevage.”

If you could choose your first winery visit after lockdown, what would you choose? Mine turned out to be Domaine François Raveneau, one that I suspect many others might pick since they are widely seen as the leading producer in Chablis. Isabelle Raveneau, as chirpy and chatty as ever, was on hand to guide me through their complete range of 2019s plus some 2018s that were bottled in May down in their barrel cellar.

I asked her about the harvest in 2018, in particular, whether she had encountered much difficulty in recruiting able hands. “We had a small concern about harvesting,” she told me. “We have phoned and registered 20 pickers. I am more concerned about the safety measures, for example, when and where we are going to eat. The 2018 vintage was picked from 30 August and 10 September for 2019. The 2018 vintage is twice the size of 2019 and completely different. It took about seven days to pick. The yields [in 2018] are higher so you don’t have the same concentration.” Isabelle told me that it was the first time that the domaine had ever done VCI, when authorities permitted producers to pick 10hL/ha above the permitted yield.

I wanted to drill down further with regard to her perception of the 2019 growing season. “The 2019 is very different to 2018,” she answered. “There was a cold spring with some localized frost followed by cool weather. The vines had a hard time growing and even during flowering, it was quite cold. Then we had a hot June and dry summer generally. There was a little rain before harvesting which saved the yield, though it remained small due to the earlier growing cycle. The acidity is slightly higher than 2018 and a lot more concentrated. Yields were half that of 2018.”

Domaine Raveneau is not immune to the influence of the growing seasons and like the rest of Chablis, juxtaposing the 2018 against 2019, I concur with Isabelle Raveneau that the latter have better acidity levels, concentration and more terroir expression. As such, these must be reflected in my scores, however, it would be disingenuous to suggest that their 2018s, good as they are, exist on the same quality level as either the 2019, or previous vintages such as 2014 or 2017. There is much to savor in 2019, right from their Petit Chablis up to their clutch of Grand Crus. Standouts? An excellent Chablis Village for starters, a fabulous and seductive Chablis Vaillons, a slightly nutty Montée de Tonnerre and a gorgeous marine-influenced La Fôret. This is one example where I do find that their Grand Crus are a tangible step up from the Premier Crus. Their Les Clos is a candidate for Chablis of the vintage thanks to both its uncommon poise and pixelation.