(No rating given).Readers who purchased the 1995 Chablis Valmur, are in for a real treat. I have re-tasted it on a few occasions since describing it in Issue #110 and have loved it each time. I apologize to readers for not having included a maturity date in my notes, it seems I was so taken by the wine that I skipped that all important fact. It requires cellaring patience because it is so tightly wound and concentrated. I suggest drinking it between 2004 and 2012. A year ago, Jean-Marie Guffens told me that 1996 was the greatest vintage of his lifetime. While he did not repeat that comment when I visited him in November, Guffens was bursting with pride as I tasted the wines.A Peter Vezan Selection (Paris Fax # 011-33-1-42654293), importers include: North Berkeley Imports, Berkeley, CA; tel (510) 848-8910, and a Patrick Lesec Selection (Paris Fax # 011-33-1-44706293), various American importers, including Bacchus Importers (800) 525-9699.

Jean-Marie Guffens produced a special cuvée this year—labelled as Valmur Sud—that numbers among the very greatest Chablis that I've ever tasted, and the regular 1995 Chablis Grand Cru Valmur isn't far from that elevated level. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of warm butter, iodine, citrus oil, peach, smoke and oyster shell, it's full-bodied, satiny and incisive, with striking depth and concentration, a racy spine of acidity and a long, penetrating and mineral finish.

Let this age or breathe and you will find some amazingly long flavors--citrus, toasted oak, ripe fruit, honey--that last for minutes on the finish. Has a great, lush, mouthfeel that any Chardonnay fan will love, but Chablis purists should stay away. Medium- to full-bodied, it's delicous now through 2005.??–PM??Region: France / Burgundy / Chablis Select to Add