Raveneau & Oysters: A Symphony of Sea and Stone

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Dinner last night was as close to perfect as it gets. Perfect in its simplicity, when the wines are allowed to shine, and the oysters have never tasted this good!

The older I get, the more I keep saying (and believing) - "Less is more. Less is more!"... I mean, who can say no to an extravaganza and variety?, BUT time and again, what touches on a deeper level are fewer things done perfectly, with focus given where it's due. The feeling I get from extreme, focused mindfulness and appreciation of a great moment stays etched in my mind far, far longer than the fleeting excitement of a Paulee-style extravaganza, as fun as those are!

Fresh Hog Island oysters — Atlantic, Sweetwater (Pacific), and Kumamoto — cold, briny, crystalline, and clean, it felt like drinking from a glacier. I slowly ate a whole plate and drank the liquor straight from the shell, pacing back and forth between the oysters and the wines.

The pairing: Domaine Francois Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Monts Mains 2020 and 2022, side by side. The vineyard sits on classic Kimmeridgian limestone on the left bank of the Serein — pure, saline, stony Chablis. Raveneau lets the site speak: hand-harvested fruit, long lees aging in old barrels, no makeup, no flash.

2020 showed as calm and complete — rounded fruit, a hint of mint and white flowers, supple texture, slow-building depth.

2022 was brighter, more citrus-driven and energetic — a bit brash in youth, but with the same mineral backbone. Both have moderate acidity for Chablis, reflecting warm vintages, yet keep precision through that limestone core.


With oysters, it was perfect symmetry — sea and stone speaking the same language. Four of us, three hours, enough Raveneau to watch both wines evolve. The 2020’s composure kept drawing me back, though I changed my mind more than once.

Raveneau wines never perform for attention. They don’t shout; they build quietly, with balance and persistence, until you realize they’ve taken over the entire meal.


Context (for reference, courtesy of ChatGPT) among Raveneau 1ers:
– Montmains (Monts Mains) – left-bank salt and quiet flesh, the most complete of the trio.
– Forêt – leaner, steely, herbal, pure oyster shell.
– Butteaux – cooler, deeper, more structured.
– Montée de Tonnerre – the “almost-grand-cru,” power and drive.
– Vaillons – floral, open, approachable earlier.

Raveneau — balance, subtlety, mystique, the Chablis whisper that always, ALWAYS leaves me longing for more.

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