Domaine Raveneau Collection

When it comes to collectible Chablis, one name stands out among the rest: Raveneau. Domaine Francois Raveneau holds nine of the top ten spots for the most expensive Chablis on Wine-Searcher, and the average trade price of a case of Domaine Raveneau on Liv-ex is nearly double that of the nearest competitor, the other hegemon in the region, Rene et Vincent Dauvissat. Raveneau is known for its collection of top-tier parcels in the best Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards of Chablis, with many stating that Raveneau Premier Cru wines are better than some of the Grand Cru from other producers.

Taking a step back, to understand Raveneau and their wines, it is essential to first understand Chablis. Chablis is a historic winemaking region and the northernmost appellation in Burgundy that exclusively produces white wines made from Chardonnay. The region is located Northwest of the Côte d’Or and is famous for its Kimmeridgian soil, which is chalky limestone and marl-based soil heavy with fossils of marine creatures that date back 150 million years to the Kimmeridgian age (part of the Jurassic period). These unique soils and northerly latitude create wines with intense minerality, high acidity, and the intrinsic ability to age beautifully. In fact, many connoisseurs say you shouldn’t drink a Raveneau wine until it has had eight to ten years of aging in the bottle to properly experience its greatness.

In relation to the Burgundy market as a whole, Chablis makes up only 10% of all white wines traded on Liv-ex by volume, but the top tier of producers, i.e. Raveneau, enjoy the same demand as the best from the Côte de Beaune. In a recent Wine-Searcher ranking of the “Most Wanted White Burgundies,” the Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre Chablis Premier Cru came in at #7, alongside the wines of Leflaive, Coche-Dury, and DRC. Along with the Montee de Tonnerre, Raveneau’s wines take four of the top six spots on most searched for Chablis on Wine-Searcher, along with the top nine spots for most valuable, with prices continuing to rise over the past year. The average retail price for all vintages of the Raveneau Montee de Tonnerre is up +69.97% over the past 12 months.

As the Burgundy bull market continues, we are increasingly seeing collectors turn to Chablis and similar regions as they provide relative value as compared to wines from the Côte d’Or. Top-tier Chablis, like those of Raveneau, offers these collectors the opportunity to access best-in-class white Burgundy without paying the top prices demanded of wines in the Côte d’Or. This collection offers the opportunity to invest in a blue-chip producer from a blue-chip region while at the same time offering the prospect of value growth similar to that of emerging regions as collectors look to diversify within Burgundy itself.