2009 Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru 'Forêt'

The domaine was founded in 1948, when Raveneau acquired new vineyard land through marriage. He was the first of his family to bottle wines made from the grapes from his vineyards – prior to this the grapes had been sold off to other producers. Today the domaine has 8 hectares (20 acres) of land spread across three grand cru and six premier cru sites in Chablis. Most of these sites are planted on southwest-facing valley slopes, which allow for maximum sun exposure and ripening. These vineyards are planted Kimmeridgian clay and limestone soils, which are typical of the region. The vines are on average 30 years old, with those in the Montée de Tonnerre Premier Cru having an average age of 50. The grapes are all harvested by hand and then fermented with indigenous yeasts. This is followed by malolactic fermentation in barrels, and then the wines are aged for an extended period of time. François Raveneau's wines see at least 12 months in oak but can spend as much as eight years in barrel or feuillette (a small barrel). Only a very small portion of these barrels are new oak, and the wines are fined and only occasionally filtered.