Chablis les Clos GC 2019 - Domaine Raveneau

Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2019 — Domaine François Raveneau

This Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2019 from Domaine François Raveneau embodies one of the noblest, deepest and most sought-after expressions of Chardonnay in Chablis. From the most famous Grand Cru of the appellation and signed by one of its most mythical domaines, it combines concentration, tension, mineral purity and immense persistence: confit lemon, orange oil, green apple, white flowers, wet stone, noble reduction, oyster shell and a long, intensely saline finish.

Domaine François Raveneau, founded in 1948 and now an absolute reference in Chablis, produces rare, deep and long-lived wines made exclusively from Chardonnay. Les Clos represents the summit of the Chablis hierarchy: a broad, vertical, powerful and chiselled Grand Cru, capable of ageing for several decades. The 2019 vintage gives here a serious, taut, concentrated wine of remarkable saline precision.

Terroir: Les Clos, the limestone power of Chablis Grand Cru

Les Clos is the largest and most emblematic of the Chablis Grand Crus. Located on the right bank of the Serein, it rests on the famous Kimmeridgian soils, rich in limestone marls and marine fossils. This terroir gives Chardonnay a vertical structure, a strong saline imprint, great depth and the stony sensation that distinguishes the greatest Chablis wines.

At Raveneau, Les Clos takes on a particularly complete dimension: the wine is not limited to freshness, it also has volume, density, flesh and contained power. Limestone soils bring tension, salinity and length; the Grand Cru exposure allows full ripeness; the domaine’s precise ageing integrates texture and noble reduction into a long, pure and very distinguished expression.

Tasting notes

Appearance: pale gold with green and golden reflections, bright, clear and still very youthful in expression. The colour reflects both the ripeness of the 2019 vintage and the crystalline freshness of a great Chablis Chardonnay.

Nose: serious, precise and gradually expansive, with orange oil, confit lemon, green apple, white flowers, ripe citrus, wet stone, oyster shell and perfectly judged noble reduction. With aeration, nuances of lemon zest, fresh pear, chalk, light smoke, fresh hazelnut and marine notes may appear.

Palate: full, taut, chiselled and highly concentrated, with impressive density at the core. Flavours of citrus, green apple, confit lemon, white flowers and wet stone are supported by vivid acidity and strongly saline minerality. The finish is immense, racy, energetic and persistent, leaving an impression of chalk, iodine and mouth-watering freshness.

Expression of the 2019 vintage

The 2019 vintage in Chablis combines ripeness, concentration and freshness, with wines often denser than in the most austere years, yet capable of retaining very fine mineral energy. In Raveneau’s Les Clos, the year translates into a wine that is both broad and taut, with remarkable depth, perfectly controlled reduction and a saline finish of great intensity.

Today, this Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2019 remains very young. It can already impress through concentration and precision, but its true potential lies in long ageing. With time, the citrus, green apple and white flower notes should evolve towards more fine honey, hazelnut, oyster shell, warm stone, noble smoke, sweet spices and iodine complexity.