Raveneau’s 2006 Chablis Butteaux signals exotic ripeness from the first whiff of pear drops and lychee. Lush, rich fruit follows on the palate, but with chalk, iodine, and wood smoke adding counterpoint and pulling one’s attention toward the particularly strong mineral dimension that is inherent in this site. Finishing with real grip, this promises a decade’s worth of fascinating evolution. Bernard Raveneau is an unabashed partisan of his 2005s – and no wonder, based on the subset of those that I tasted, including a magnificent Valmur which he rightly terms “complete” and “close to his ideal.” Raveneau is less effusive in praise of his 2006s – each of which I tasted from a selection of barrels – opining that lavish fruit and richness are precisely this collection’s fortes. I think he underestimates the depth of his own 2006s, and only hope I have opportunity to revisit some of them in five or ten years. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524