Domaine de la Bongran

Cuvée Levroutée Viré-Clessé Chardonnay 2017

9.6

This exceeded expectations-Notes from retailer We’ve long been fans of Domaine de la Bongran, a curious little estate in Viré-Clessé producing delicious and distinct white Burgundies. Their Cuvée Levroutée is only made in exceptional years, using some botrytised fruit and made in an off-dry style; as with their other wines, it is aged exclusively in stainless steel to allow the terroir to shine. The 2017 is the first release of the cuvée in over a decade, with the previous vintage produced 2006. The fruit comes from specific parcels with marl-rich soils that retain humidity and therefore encourage the development of noble rot, while also producing Chardonnay with a beautiful backbone of acidity.

The 2017, made with around 25% botrytised fruit, is still incredibly young, with the bite of Seville orange pith, honey and richer peach on the nose, leading on to a lush palate that offers a rush of stone fruit, reined in by a line of mineral citrus. The 17g/l residual sugar is beautifully integrated, and zesty notes linger on the long finish, keeping the wine impressively fresh and balanced. Winemaker Gautier Thévenet tells us that within three to five years the wine tends to seem dry, the sugar integrating with the body of the wine and becoming even more complex. Just 4,200 bottles were produced.

Wine Advocate 95 review

The 2017 Viré-Clessé Cuvée Levroutée is now on the market, and it is the first time the Thevent family has been able to produce this cuvée since 2006. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of citrus oil, caramelized pineapple, mandarin, white flowers, pine resin and spices, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and textural, with a layered core, racy acids and appreciable residual sweetness and structural tension, but it's already more integrated and expressive than it was last year, so it appears to be coming into its stride. — 10 days ago

Paul, Tom and 15 others liked this

Paul T HB

I normally get the regular Bongran at $40-45 but when I saw this available I jumped on it

Shay A

Where did you find it?

Paul T HB

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Domaine de la Bongran

Cuvée E.J. Thevenet Quintaine Viré-Clessé Chardonnay 2016

Paul T HB

9.7

Can’t beat this at $40.00
WA rating,

The 2016 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of elderflower, beeswax, pear, white flowers and peach. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, it's lively and concentrated, concluding with a saline finish. This is a more elegant, less muscular wine than the 2015, nodding to the style of the lovely 2013. I vividly remember visiting the domaine in October 2016, in pouring rain, when everyone else in the neighborhood had finished picking and Gautier Thevenet hadn't yet begun! — 4 years ago

Paul, Lynda and 34 others liked this