2007 Domaine de la Bongran (Thevenet) Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet

Community Tasting Notes (23) Avg Score: 91.0 points

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  12/30/2022 - forceberry wrote: 93 Points

  A more or less naturalist Chardonnay made from very ripe grapes, often partially botrytized. The fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts, they are slow and long (up to 24 months), the wines might not always ferment to complete dryness and the wines are released only when the producer deems them ready. 14% alcohol.
  
  Pale golden yellow with faint lime-green highlights. The nose feels expressive and fragrant with an immediate smack of perfumed floral character and slightly honeyed tones of botrytis, some exotic notes of pineapple, a little bit of cantaloupe, light mineral notes of chalk dust, a hint of candied ginger and a touch of marzipan or almond paste. The wine is broad, rich and somewhat concentrated on the palate yet at the same time surprisingly firm with a good streak of acidity and a medium-to-moderately full body. There are dry to slightly off-dry flavors of ripe Golden Delicious apple and cantaloupe, some stony mineral notes, a little bit of greengage, light tropical notes of pineapple, a hint of savory wood spice and a fragrant touch of toasted exotic spices. The high acidity lends great sense of freshness and structure to the wine, even if it feels quite weighty and substantial. The finish is long, lively and complex with a layered, dry aftertaste of fresh pineapple and ripe apricot, some crunchy notes of spicy red apple, light creamy notes of oak, a hint of cantaloupe and a touch of savory wood spice.
  
  A big, concentrated and quite distinctive Viré-Clessé that is remarkably youthful for its age at 15 years, showing surprisingly little development - if any at all. True to the singular style of the house, the wine is super-ripe and rather exotic in nature, yet it doesn't feel one bit heavy, ponderous or overdone at any point. Many commented how surprisingly airy and precise the wine turned out to be, because the nose made people expect something heavier. One of the attendees in the tasting said the wine feels an awful lot like Bongran's Viré-Clessé Cuvée Thevenet, making him wonder if the wine is actually that one. Right on spot. All in all, this is an excellent and very idiosyncratic white Burgundy that is drinking really well right now, but can evolve and improve for years more. A bargain at 21,50€.

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  10/5/2021 - Wine MOB Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Massive richness. From magnum enjoyed over 2 days under Corvin. Deep Golden color, baked apple, apricots, roasted pineapple, white flowers flow from this wine. This wine has the richness and body of a great Meursault premier cru. The one criticism is that it is loaded up front and don’t follow through on the finish.

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  5/31/2020 - DFBW Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Deep yellow colour in the glass. Delicious wine with bags of rich fruit.

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  12/22/2019 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 93 Points

  The kind of funky tropical notes you would expect from this wine, but not heavy at all. In fact, those notes are just a part of the wine which is more about deep yellow fruit, flowers, herbs and minerals. Great mouthfeel.

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  9/1/2018 - MikeATL Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Some nice Burgs (and a few others): A little tropical, rich but with nice acidity, lovely. It just gets more explosive and intense with air, and is world-class by the end of the night.

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