Winemaker Notes
Beginning in 2017, Viré-Clessé “En Châtelaine” is a new bottling—50% of which was sourced from vines planted in 1917—and it wasn’t aged in wood at all. Instead, it was fermented and aged in a concrete tank. The result is classy, pure, and precise Chardonnay, evoking freshly crushed apples, crushed stones, and citrus zest. It would be perfect alongside baked steelhead trout.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Wafting from the glass with aromas of musky peach, white flowers and citrus blossom, the 2018 Viré-Clessé En Châtelaine is medium to full-bodied, layered and fleshy, with lively acids and a saline, elegantly perfumed finish.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
Inhabiting the best of the upper half of the Mâconnais, Viré-Clessé, created from the delineation of the two top Mâcon Villages, produces lively, charming and full-bodied whites (of Chardonnay). Lemon balm, verbena, white peach, and mint evolve with graceful age to quince jam, spice, pine and brown butter. The aromatic intensity of Viré-Clessé suits itself to herb-laden poultry, as well as sautéed shrimp or vegetables. It is also the perfect partner to Camembert or goat cheese.