1996 Domaine Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru "Valmur"

This was the second time that Bernard Raveneau served the 1996 Valmur to me after running through a lineup of the current vintage out of barrel, and I suspect that I may see this magnificent wine again in the cellars until he is convinced that I understand that his wines do not have any issues with premox. His generosity is very much appreciated, as perfect bottles of the ’96 Valmur are indeed profound. The bouquet on this pristine bottle just soars from the glass in a mélange of apples, candied lemon peel, beeswax, kaleidoscopic minerality and a topnote of spring flowers. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, deep and rock solid to the core, with laser-like focus, brilliant balance and simply stunning length and grip on the very pure and very magical finish. There was a time when I owned a full case of this great wine and fully anticipated replicating such magical moments with my own cache, but my bottles fell under the long shadow of premox. This bottle was utterly profound. (Drink between 2009-2030) 97

The stupendous 1996 Chablis Valmur is vibrant, bright, and exhibits a floral nose leads to a wine of crystalline precision. It has mind-boggling depth as well as powerful quartz, lemon, chalk, and mineral flavors. This full-bodied and quintessentially elegant offering is as tightly-wound as a spring, seemingly holding back most of its character in reserve, yet Raveneau said it was more forward and expressive than he would have imagined. It is a grand vin, one that merits years of cellaring. (RP)