François Raveneau

François Raveneau is one of the great historic names of Chablis. The domaine was founded in 1948, when François Raveneau combined his family vineyards with those of his wife, Andrée Dauvissat. Over the following decades he gradually acquired parcels in some of the appellation’s finest vineyards. After his death in 2000, his sons Bernard and Jean-Marie continued the domaine, with the next generation, Isabelle and Maxime, now increasingly involved.

Today, the family works around 10 hectares of Chardonnay. The holdings include three Grands Crus — Blanchot, Les Clos and Valmur — and six Premiers Crus, including Montée de Tonnerre, Vaillons, Butteaux, Chapelot, Montmains and Forêt. Production is small, particularly from the individual Premier and Grand Cru parcels.

The vineyards are worked traditionally and all grapes are harvested by hand. In the cellar, the approach remains deliberately restrained. Fermentation takes place in tank, followed by ageing in predominantly old oak, including the traditional 132-litre feuillettes historically associated with Chablis. The aim is not to impart oak flavour, but to allow the wines to develop slowly while preserving the character of each vineyard.

Raveneau’s wines combine concentration with remarkable precision, acidity and minerality. They can be reserved in their youth but develop exceptional complexity and depth with age. Tiny production and worldwide demand have made the wines increasingly difficult to obtain, but their reputation ultimately rests on something more important: an extraordinary consistency and expression of Chablis that has made Raveneau one of the appellation’s undisputed reference points.