Raveneau Chablis Valmur Grand Cru 2017

98 points (19/20) La Revue du Vin de France: "Valmur has great concentration and an imposing structure, its dizzying depth and persistence accompanied by a fresh breath, iodine and juniper accents. (2020)"

97 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "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. (8/30/19)"

96 points James Suckling: "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. (7/23/18)"

95 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2017 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru is another wine with a production that was decimated by frost. Yields were a measly 8 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 add energy. I can't say the 2017 is a typical Valmur, because it isn't, but it is nevertheless very pretty. Drink: 2022-2042. (Jan 2020)"

94 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2017 Valmur from the Raveneau family shows the concentration from the very low yields in this frost-damaged parcel, and consequently, was quite a bit more reserved in personality at the time of my visit. The bouquet is youthful and very deep, offering up scents of apple, pear, orange zest, limestone minerality and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with excellent cut and grip and a very long, powerful and nascently complex finish. This is still very, very primary in personality and will need extended aging to start to stir. I like it very much, but stylistically, the utterly classical Blanchots steals my heart this year over the more powerful Valmur. 2025-2065. (Nov/Dec 2018)"

93 points Allen Meadows (Burghound): "(froma .75 ha parcel). A less elegant if much more pungent nose is comprised by notes of bees wax, mineral reduction, essence of pear, iodine and shrimp shells. As is usually the case, the broad-shouldered flavors are bigger, richer, more powerful and more muscular if less refined and mineral-driven on the highly energetic and once again, super-saline finish. This brawny Valmur should be a particularly long-lived 2017. Drink: 2032+. (Oct 2019)"