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2018 Petit Chablis
Domaine Roland LavantureuxThese young Chablisien prodigies have taken an already stellar family domaine and lifted it to the next level.
There is a game we like to play among the KLWM staff: which producers in the portfolio, who now fly under the radar, will reach superstar status within a few years’ time?
Looking back, there was once an era when Jean-François Coche’s Meursault-Perrières sold for $14.95 a bottle, or when cases of Clape’s Cornas lined our retail store floor. Even just a few years ago, one could walk into the shop and choose from a wide selection of cuvées from Arnaud Ente, a vigneron whose rise to stardom has been stratospheric. So, who will be the next Coche-Dury, Clape, or Ente?
Without hesitation, we all agree: David and Arnaud Lavantureux are top of that list. These young Chablisien prodigies have taken an already stellar family domaine and lifted it to the next level. They have added new wines, including premier and grand cru sites, to their lineup, and introduced fresh ideas to vineyard and cellar work—all with passion, drive, and crucially, pinpoint precision in their execution.
Their most humble cuvée, Petit Chablis, remains the domaine’s benchmark for value and typicity. With a delectable combination of fresh fruit and oyster-shell aromatics, a texture on the palate that is both suave and linear, and a finish as mouthwatering as one demands from cool-climate Chardonnay from limestone soils, this Petit remains one of the grandest bargains we import.
Rendez-vous in a few years to check in on the Lavantureux brothers’ wines—if they are finally perceived for their true value, stocking up will be nowhere near as easy as it is today.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2018 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chardonnay |
Appellation: | Chablis |
Country: | France |
Region: | Burgundy |
Producer: | Domaine Roland Lavantureux |
Winemaker: | Arnaud and David Lavantureux |
Vineyard: | 28 years average, 4.5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone (Portlandian) |
Aging: | Fermented and aged in stainless steel |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2022 Petit Chablis
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With a delectable combination of fresh fruit and oyster-shell aromatics, this remains Lavantureux’s benchmark for value and typicity.
2022 Chablis 1er Cru “Beauroy”
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The premier cru Beauroy is a round, ample expression of Chablis from a south-facing parcel. Silky and suave on the palate, it finishes with a whisper of salinity.
2022 Chablis
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A crystal-clear translation of the Kimmeridgian limestone of Chablis—Chardonnay the way it can only taste from these soils.
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2022 Chablis Grand Cru “Vaudésir”
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Already in spectacular harmony, this beauty deserves a bin in every Burgundy collector’s cellar.
2022 Chablis 1er Cru “Vau de Vey”
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David Lavantureux describes it as “direct and pure, full of energy”—a perfectly steely Chablis for oysters-on-the-half-shell.
2021 Bourgogne Epineuil “Les Fauconniers”
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Epineuil shares the prized Kimmeridgian marl that makes up the soils of Chablis, and this rouge echoes the bright, mineral backbone that characterizes Lavantureux whites.
2022 Chablis Grand Cru “Les Preuses”
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Insider tip: cellaring some grand cru Chablis from Lavantureux is about as wise a move as you can make in today’s volatile (wine) world.
2022 Chablis Grand Cru “Bougros”
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Immediately accessible, with the type of ripe, unctuous nose you know and love with grand cru Chablis.
2022 Chablis 1er Cru “Fourchaume”
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This stellar cuvée features generous flesh enveloping a wiry core, with a flinty edge that leads to a satisfyingly creamy finish.
About The Producer
Domaine Roland Lavantureux
About The Region
Burgundy
In eastern central France, Burgundy is nestled between the wine regions of Champagne to the north, the Jura to the east, the Loire to the west, and the Rhône to the south. This is the terroir par excellence for producing world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The southeast-facing hillside between Dijon in the north and Maranges in the south is known as the Côte d’Or or “golden slope.” The Côte d’Or comprises two main sections, both composed of limestone and clay soils: the Côte de Nuits in the northern sector, and the Côte de Beaune in the south. Both areas produce magnificent whites and reds, although the Côte de Beaune produces more white wine and the Côte de Nuits more red.
Chablis is Burgundy’s northern outpost, known for its flinty and age-worthy Chardonnays planted in Kimmeridgian limestone on an ancient seabed. Vézelay is a smaller area south of Chablis with similar qualities, although the limestone there is not Kimmeridgian.
To the south of the Côte de Beaune, the Côte Chalonnaise extends from Chagny on its northern end, down past Chalon-sur-Saône and encompasses the appellations of Bouzeron in the north, followed by Rully, Mercurey, Givry, and Montagny.
Directly south of the Chalonnaise begins the Côte Mâconnais, which extends south past Mâcon to the hamlets of Fuissé, Vinzelles, Chaintré, and Saint-Véran. The Mâconnais is prime Chardonnay country and contains an incredible diversity of soils.
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Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
When buying red Burgundy, I think we should remember:
1. Big wines do not age better than light wine.
2. A so-called great vintage at the outset does not guarantee a great vintage for the duration.
3. A so-called off vintage at the outset does not mean the wines do not have a brilliant future ahead of them.
4. Red Burgundy should not taste like Guigal Côte-Rôtie, even if most wine writers wish it would.
5. Don’t follow leaders; watch yer parking meters.
Inspiring Thirst, page 174