2006 Chablis Vaillons 1er Cru

One of the idiosyncracies of this superb estate is that tastings here have always begun at the premier cru level. No longer, though, as the Raveneaus finally have some village Chablis with vintage 2007: they will produce about 5,000 bottles from vines they planted five years ago around the bottom of Montmain. In 2007 the Raveneaus picked between September 10 and 16, bringing in fruit with potential alcohol levels in the moderate 11.5% to 12% range and chaptalizing most of the wines to about 12.5%. The wines had already been racked twice following the malos, and they went into futs with very little lees. As Bernard Raveneau described it: "We're not partisans of working with the lees." Raveneau noted that the 2007 fruit was picked under better conditions than in 2004 and that the new crop of wines has more flesh than the '04s. Incidentally, the 2006s had just been bottled a week before my end-of-May visit. They are outstanding, but Raveneau appears to give the edge to the 2005s, which he compared to the 1990s made here. "No work was needed in the vines in 2005," he said. Raveneau told me that his 2006s tended to finish with more residual sugar than the 2007s (typically 2 to 3 grams, vs. 1 to 1.5).

Bernard Raveneau describes the family's 2006s as "very rich and supple, more like Burgundies to our south." The wines started out a bit like the 2003s, he told me, "but with more freshness and minerality, and a less exotic character." The fermentations were long, and most of the wines finished with about two grams per liter of residual sugar. This will no doubt give them more early personality and appeal than the 2005s here-a crop of wines that Raveneau describes as "more structured and solid, and possibly a vintage with great aging potential." Raveneau compares his 2005s to 2002, but believes they're even richer than the earlier set of wines. Still, he admitted, as he gets older he increasingly prefers wines with a bit more fruit and less obvious structure because they're less tiring to drink. Bernard and brother Jean-Marie buy less than 10% new oak each year.