Description
95-96 According to Raveneau, the airy exposure of its site inherently lends more elegance to his 2006 Chablis Valmur and less weight or opulence than the Blanchots. (The Valmur, too, originates with a high average age of vine.) Diverse flowers and herbal high tones in the nose usher in a remarkably polished, refined palate, one no less tactile in its mineral dimensions than the Blanchots, but more transparent, and with a lift that matches its wafting floral perfume and a purity of yellow plum and grapefruit that are seductively succulent. This unforgettably persistent, truly grand cru should dazzle for 12-15 years. Bernard Raveneau is an unabashed partisan of his 2005s – and no wonder, based on the subset of those that I tasted, including a magnificent Valmur which he rightly terms “complete” and “close to his ideal.” Raveneau is less effusive in praise of his 2006s – each of which I tasted from a selection of barrels – opining that lavish fruit and richness are precisely this collection’s fortes. I think he underestimates the depth of his own 2006s, and only hope I have opportunity to revisit some of them in five or ten years.
- Country: France
- Region: Burgundy
- Appellation: Chablis
- Size: 750ml
- Color: White
Varietal
Chardonnay
Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one that has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is Chardonnay. This green-skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity, which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.