Can be stated to half degree of alc%. ie. 13,0% or 13,5% - not 13,3%.
Yes so the 13.47% bottles I have clearly don’t exist… 
But I think it’s also possible to state say 13.3%.
I think the labeling expert is failing to realize wineries don’t always follow the law. Otto’s correct, sometimes label details are changed with a pen. I’ve seen plenty of mags with labels that say 750mL, presumably because the winery didn’t want to pay for specific 1.5L labels and who’s f’ing looking. Yes, the label expert is correct, it’s not legal but people do it. Deal with it.
I think the best idea here is that the '96 Chave mag was labeled later on, when the label design had changed. You see this with Breton Chinons, back in the '90s their label was simple black script font on white paper, the “new” label that you’ll see on '90s late releases is the current design, obviously applied later on.
Occam’s razor - the Chave is probably a late release, probably not a vintage to counterfeit, certainly could be fake so buyer beware, we’re just internet rubes.
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I think the bottle size of a magnum ( and fill level) is some sort of visual clue as to the volume of wine.
This whole discussion seems rather theological. An email to the winery or web search for images of ‘96 mag labels should suffice.
You can also cut the capsule to get a look at the cork when you receive the bottle, even if not going to consume right away. Anyone have a reference Chave cork from the vintage? 
Yeah, well, I bought it in October 1999. It probably was a bit on the high side as I bought it at Whole Foods Glover Park, which used to have a spectacular wine department/buyer.
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I couldn’t even buy alcohol in 1999 ahaha.
Price is awesome but a Whole Foods getting Chave Hermitage might be even better.
A little high, but not too bad. It was $64.99 at Yankee Spirits around that time, though at Yankee (Massachusetts) there was no sales tax.
Yeah, until 10-15 years ago, lots of Whole Foods had pretty solid wine selections.
I didn’t hear him say design has to be different. I thought he was saying one was 750 ml vs 1500ml.
That’s why his responses have been besides the point in addition to being insufferable.
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Exactly! Thank you!
In the Chinese markets, I saw pallets of fake $4 Black Opal. Profits were probably still 100%.
They were selling fake Leoville Las Cases and Ducru in the Shanghai airport the last time I was there in 2016.
I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if people are making fake old Chave Hermitages…
I wouldn’t either, but I suspect 1996 would not be high on the list for a target vintage to fake.
Yes, but rather 1990 or 1999, rarely 1996 …
Under the radar! The perfect crime!
7-8 years ago I came across fake Hudelot Noellat RSV from 02, 05 & 08. At the time, they were low 3 figure bottles, nothing crazy. We opened one, and it was obviously pinot but not terribly interesting. The broker who’d offered them to me never once thought to do a thorough examination, not that I blame him (we ended up destroying all the bottles). Now imagine if they made 100 of these. At 3-400 apiece, that’s 30-40k. 300 bottles? That’s 100K plus. The most expensive and rarest wines go through intense scrutiny before resale, but there is plenty of money moving less obvious wines.
Oh, and I’ve seen more of these fakes on Instagram over the years. Not a ton, but enough to know that there was a decent number of those bottles.
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