Domaine Francois Raveneau Foret Premier Cru Chablis 2023

At Domaine François Raveneau, the philosophy is simple and unwavering. If it is not broken, it is not fixed.

The family believes that great wine begins in the vineyard, shaped by hard work rather than intervention. Each plot is farmed traditionally, with manual ploughing to preserve soil vitality, careful yield control through disbudding, and tailored trellising to suit each vineyard’s aspect and exposure. Harvest is carried out by hand to protect fruit integrity and ensure only perfectly balanced grapes reach the cellar.

In the winery, restraint continues to guide every decision. Grapes are pressed immediately after harvest and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel, allowing purity of fruit and terroir to take centre stage. Maturation takes place largely in older barrels, typically around seven years of age, used not to impart flavour but to build texture and structure over time. New oak is kept to an absolute minimum.

Ageing is patient and deliberate, ranging from just over a year to more than a decade depending on the cuvée. Wines are finished with additional time in stainless steel and, in some cases, extended bottle ageing before release. The result is a collection of wines defined by clarity, balance, and the unmistakable imprint of Chablis’ Kimmeridgian soils.

As Isabelle Raveneau succinctly puts it, the secret is that there is no secret. It starts in the vineyard, and then it is simply hard work.