Domaine Raveneau: The King Of Chablis

White Wine With Great Potential

If you look up "filth" in a dictionary, one of the explanations here will be "person who does not glorify Chablis’ top wines" - and it is difficult to contradict. What exactly is so special about the wines of Chablis? In addition to being produced on 100% Chardonnay, the wines from here are characterized by a unique terroir of clay and limestone. This, combined with a cooler climate, contributes to some of the purest Chardonnay in the World according to Jancis Robinson.

We have repeatedly pointed out that the global interest in the best white wines is increasing. In this perspective, it is impossible not to mention Domaine Raveneau - the King of Chablis. With solid historical returns, limited production and several tough years in the region, it is a strong white wine investment with great potential - regardless of wine and vintage!

The King Of Chablis

Domaine Raveneau was founded in 1948 when Francois Raveneau combined vineyards he had bought himself with vineyards owned by his wife's family.

Francois's father, Louis Raveneau, owned several parcels in Chablis but sold them during the 1950s. It was a challenging time in Chablis during that period: production had been severely disrupted during World War II, affecting the liquidity of the producers. Furthermore, the area was plagued by grape phylloxera. However, Francois Raveneau still saw Chablis' great potential and took advantage of decreasing land prices to expand his domain continuously throughout the 1960s and 1970s - including important parcels on some of Chablis' fine Grand Cru vineyards.

Domaine Raveneau is today one of the absolute most famous producers in Chablis and it can be argued that it is also the most exclusive. At the same time, Raveneau is one of the very few producers to produce wine in all four Chablis classifications: Petit Chablis, Chablis, Chablis Premier Cru and Grand Cru.

Today, Raveneau produces three Grand Cru and five Premier Cru wines, and this is where you, as a wine investor, need to find your next white wine investment.

Both the Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines from Domaine Raveneau have thus been strong investments. Whether the future brings more interest for the Grand Crus or Premier Crus nobody knows. No matter what, both classifications have delivered great returns in the past and as the fundamentals are unchanged this might very well also be the case in the future.

This underlines how limited production is of Raveneau's finest wines. This places these wines among the world's rarest and most sought after in terms of production capacity.

But the world's wine lovers can currently be in a situation where the above is an absolute best-case scenario.

With several tough years in Chablis, total production has been lowered and wine connoisseurs, collectors and lovers will have to look even further for the best bottles of Chablis. Something particularly interesting as a wine investor.

Only One Full Yield During The Past Four Years In Chablis

For the past four years, the winemakers in Chablis have been extremely challenged and, overall, have had only a single year, in 2018, with full harvest yield. In 2016, hail made great havoc, in 2017 it was late spring frost and last year, in 2019, the area was hit by both frost and drought.

All of which has meant that production in Chablis has generally been at a lower flare and the quantities produced have thus been significantly reduced.

The same is true for Raveneau, who has also experienced a reduced yield in affected seasons. From an investment perspective, it is not only interesting in terms of the influenced vintages, but in terms of all vintages from Domaine Raveneau. Not only is the supply of Raveneau reduced, so is it generally for all Chablis wines. If supply is reduced and demand is unchanged or even rising, in the long run, it will lead to price increases.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

White wine is hot and nothing indicates that the best of the kind will not be even hotter in the future. Also, the production of the best white wines is extremely limited compared to similar red wines.

If you want the best and most exclusive white wine in Burgundy you can look in the direction of Montrachet in the border country between Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet where, for example, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti produces white wine. If we go to Meursault we find Domaine Coche-Dury. But when it comes to Chablis there is only one producer on the top shelf and that is Domaine Raveneau.

Domaine Raveneau produces some of the world's most famous white wines and according to Burgundian tradition, this is done to a very limited extent, which results in wine lovers having to look far for the coveted bottles.

The historical price trend emphasizes Domaine Raveneau's format and at the same time a high demand - a demand that has become more difficult to meet after several tough years of reduced harvest yield in the area. At the same time, it only becomes more difficult to meet the demand if the interest in the best white wines continues to rise.

We have for a long period collected different wines from Domaine Raveneau that are now sold for investment, including a rare selection. All wines are of either Grand Cru or Premier Cru classification and have solid investment potential, regardless of wine or vintage. This is a general recommendation of Domaine Raveneau's top wines.

Secure your investment in the top wines from Chablis today - everything is sold on a first-come, first-served basis.