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News
“...a monumentally scaled yet uncannily elegant and pure wine with a massive nose of limestone, citrus and white flowers of almost indescribable complexity followed by dense, very tight, beautifully nuanced flavors all wrapped in endless reserves of mid-palate sap. The backend display simply astonishing persistance that stains the palate. Yet for all this expressiveness, it’s immediately clear that only a very small portion of the wine’s potential is being revealed. The acidity of the ‘96 vintage is pronounced yet there is more than enough seve to balance it. A genuinely great wine of power, finesse, detail and riveting class. This rivals the DRC Montrachet and the Niellon Chevalier for wine of the vintage honors.”(98pts BH)
Wine Description
The Story
Domaine Ramonet produces 24 Appellation wines from 40 Acres located primarily near the hamlets of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet in the southern part of the Côte de Beaune region in Burgundy. Parcels of vineyards were progressively acquired since the first acquisition in 1934, the most recent being Bouzeron in the Côte Chalonnaise.
The Montrachet vineyard, at an altitude of 820 to 885 feet, produces the finest expression of the Chardonnay grape anywhere on earth. It owes its name to Mont-Rachet or Bald Hill as the soils are poor, thin and lie on hard limestones traversed by a layer of reddish marls, with the best slope in its area versus the other neighboring Grands Crus. Its origin dates back to the Middle Ages in the 15th Century. Its status was first recognized as a Grand Cru in 1937, which was subsequently cemented in the mid-20th century with a number of great vintages.
Buying into a Montrachet plot of land was usually something that only the most wealthy and ambitious producers attempted, but Ramonet’s purchase in 1978 is one of the most legendary stories in Burgundy. When Père Ramonet, 72 years of age, grandfather of Noël & Jean-Claude, walked into a lawyer’s office in Beaune, he paid entirely in cash and then excused himself to return to the familiarity of his vineyards and cellar.
Vintage 1996
When a vintage like 1996 passes and 13 moon chages take place in the year many growers expect difficult moments to come.
Eventhoug the spring was marvellous and the very arly springbut was not affected by any frost.and due to the high tepertures the flowering rarely ever seen before (only one generation !)
The arrival of the summer ...warm and dry in June, cooler but still dry in July and August. A perfect weather with short periods of rainfall each time followed by intense suneshine untill the harvest helped the grapes to finish maturation (Wonderfull natural degrees from 12° to 13°9).
The weather during the harvest was relatively cold, cloudy but dry allowing the growers to harvest each parcel at the best moment of maturity.
The cold nights stabalised the level of acidity in the grapes and most important protected the grapes from rot.
Our first impressions on the Red wines are very promessing with deep colours and good and intense aromas
For the White wines we detect the sugar/acidity balance of a “ Great ” vintage. Despite of the relatively high yields the wines show power and complexity remembering of the 1990 vintage (equal yields).
One very distinctif sign of a very promessing vintage is the smile in the faces of the growers.