Jaboulet has consistently produced an exceptionally high quality sweet Muscat Beaumes de Venise. They make a selection from the village's cooperative and bottle the wine under the Jaboulet name. The 1996 is another highly successful wine with a light salmon/orange/copper-like color, and sensational Muscat aromatics of tropical fruits and ripe apricots. Sweet, but not heavy, this refreshing, extremely pure, luscious wine possesses enough acidity to provide uplift to its flavors. It is an ideal aperitif wine, or one to sip at the end of a meal with or without a fruit-based dessert. Just be sure to drink it over the next 1-2 years. The northern Rhone 1996 whites offer a rare combination of high acidity and ripe fruit - at least for those producers who kept yields down. Where greedy growers tried to maximize production, the results are white wines that are high in acidity and low in flavor. All of Jaboulet's 1996s were ripe, with good underlying acidity, and plenty of fresh fruit. Importer: Frederick Wildman, New York, NY; tel. (212) 355-0700