1996 Le Montrachet

Drunk from magnum, the 1996 Montrachet Grand Cru from Domaine Ramonet is still an infant, opening in the glass with scents of white flowers, citrus oil, crushed chalk, warm bread and oyster shell. On the palate, it's deep, full-bodied and concentrated, with an immensely tight-knit core and an incisive spine of acidity. Whether the plenitude and expressive complexity of a great mature Montrachet will emerge with enough additional bottle age is an interesting question: on the one hand, this is so youthful that I'm disinclined to bet against it, and on the other, at age 23, it remains unyielding for the time being.