1994 Macon Clesse Cuvee Botrytis (2020 Release)
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Tasting notes
(from what Gautier described as "very different botrytis--it was dense and came quickly--and the best one we've ever made"; bottled in 375-ml. format): Hyperconcentrated, more Tokaji-like aromas of mushroom and fusel minerality; in a much more extreme style than the 2006 version and not with that wine's pure fruit expression. Hugely concentrated and distinctly "browner" in style, displaying the more roasted side of botrytis in its notes of honeycomb, toffee and burlap. There's less obvious acidity here but the finish is honeyed, exotic and endless. Clearly one of a kind, but I imagine that this more ephemeral wine would be better used after a meal than during it. A one-off, but I marginally prefer the '2006 for its fresher fruit and racy energy.
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 1994 Vire Clesse Cuvee Botrytise comes from 300gm/L residual sugar and underwent a 17-month fermentation. I have tasted this amazing sweet wine several times and it never ceases to amaze (in fact, I purchased a bottle to share with friends before departing the domaine). It is still so rich and honeyed on the nose with lemon curd and acacia, a touch of fennel, later frangipane and even peaches and cream. The palate is viscous, beautifully balanced with mandarin, Manuka honey and orange zest, perhaps showing more mulberry notes than I remember on the finish. It is just a brilliant wine that is aging blithely at a glacial rate of knots. Tasted May 2017.
(300 g/l residual sugar with 10.5% alcohol): Full, bright orange. Roasted aromas of dried apricot, truffle, cigar tobacco and mahogany, plus a sexy rancio -like note of molasses. Dense, thick and solid yet penetrating, thanks to unusually high acidity and a low pH for this style of wine. The virtually endless finish suggests that this wine will go on for many years in a cold cellar. Gauthier noted that "this is the most concentrated vintage we've ever made; it was a very rainy year except for a sunny October." And he added: "We may soon sell this." (375 ml.)
(for 375 ml.) Orange-yellow color. High-toned, resiny aromas of honey, toffee and white raisin; here the strong noble rot is much more roasted than that of the 2000. Superconcentrated and silky, but as with the 2000 the powerful acids leaven the wine's thickness. Distinctly more roasted and rustic in character than the 2000, with higher volatile acidity, but utterly fascinating sweet wine. This is carrying 250 grams of residual sugar. "Vintages 2000 and 1994 are my two most concentrated years for this wine," Thevenet told me.
About the producer
Domaine de la Bongran is no ordinary Mâconnais estate. Since Jean Thévenet took over the domaine in 1972, this Viré-Clessé producer has become a cult name – with Jean a pioneer of organics and minimal intervention, as well as the estate’s unique wine style.