2017 Chablis, Valmur, Grand Cru, Domaine François Raveneau, Burgundy

The 2017 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru is another wine with a production that was decimated by frost. Yields were a measly eight hectoliters per hectare as opposed to around 50, which is the norm. As for the wine in the glass, it is superb. Curiously, the 2017 shows less density and power than I would have expected from this site in a low-yielding vintage. The 2017 Valmur is elusive, mysterious and also wonderfully inviting. A whole range of bright, saline notes adds energy. I can't say the 2017 is a typical Valmur because it isn't, but it is nevertheless very pretty.

Drink 2022 - 2042

Intense oyster shell and wet stones with some spices and flinty elements. Some herbs and a flinty stony edge, too. The palate’s very intense, very svelte and athletic, with punchy lemons and a steely, composed, swirling, powerful finish. Bracing intensity here.

Drink or hold

The 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Valmur is brilliant, unwinding in the glass with a complex bouquet that mingles aromas of Meyer lemon and white peach with notes of oyster shell, iodine, wet stones, blanched almonds and wheat toast. On the palate, it's full-bodied, deep and searingly concentrated, with racy acids, chewy structuring extract and a long, precise and mouthwatering finish. Cropped at a mere 13 hectoliters per hectare, it nonetheless retains superb balance and a very promising sense of reserve.

Drink 2025 - 2045