Provenance

Private Client

Critics Ratings

‘Billecart-Salmon's 1996 Le Clos Saint-Hilaire has lost some of its youthful exuberance and the fruit now is a touch softer than it was a few years ago. The aromatics and overall balance remain seductive and utterly compelling. To gain perspective, I tasted this next to Bollinger's Vielles Vignes Françaises and Krug's Clos d'Ambonnay. The Clos Saint-Hilaire is the most delicate, ethereal of the three, while the VVF is the darkest and most brooding, purely vinous of the wines. The Clos d'Ambonnay stands out for its laser-like minerality and intensity. It is likely to be the longest-lived of these three Blanc de Noirs.’ - Antonio Galloni, Vinous, 96/100 (Sep 2010)

‘Child of the most controversial of vintages, its unprecedented marriage of high levels of acidity and sugar sometimes ending in divorce. Not in this case; a beguiling nose of honeydew and griotte draws us into a wonderfully tight and beautifully textured infusion. The 1996 was bottled a year later than usual (i.e., in 1998) in an effort to tame the acidity and to presage full integration. It has worked a treat; the palate is silky yet savoury, with unexpected hints of chamomile, gingerbread and nutmeg only serving further to underline complexity and potential.’ - Simon Field MW, Decanter.com, 95/100 (Oct 2021)

‘Exuberant nose – perfumed, butterscotch and praline with toasted almond. Much riper on the palate than the 1995 with red apple and the butterscotch note is here as well – even at only 4 g/l (the most ever for Clos St-Hilaire) you can really tell the sugar is there in comparison with other vintages. Rich and expressive.’ - Alistair Cooper MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17.5/20 (Oct 2021)