Surprisingly fresh and lively, even lean. Shows lemon, lime, mineral and petrol aromas and flavors. Full and racy, with minerally apple tart and piecrust flavors that last for minutes on the palate. Powerful yet subtle.—'88/'98 Bordeaux blind retrospective (2008). Drink now. –JS

(NM92-94 points) A lucid greeny/gold colour. Superb definition on the nose with notes of baked apple and pear. Fine acidity with a subtle use of oak. Supreme balance and a mouth tingling nervosity. Vanilla and beeswax. Very rich and refined with extraordinary length - a wonderful wine.

The 1988 vintage of Laville is fully into its apogee of peak drinkability and is a superb glass of white Graves today and has years and years of life still ahead of it. The deep, complex and absolutely beautiful nose soars from the glass in a blend of toasted coconut, apple, fresh fig, gentle notes of petrol, beautifully complex soil tones and a topnote of beeswax. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and flawlessly focused, with a rock solid core, great purity and complexity, bright acids and outstanding length and grip on the à point finish. Back in the late 1980s, the estate used a lot less new oak for this bottling than is the case today, and perhaps it was the more interesting wine for its lower percentage of new wood. Lovely juice in the prime of life.