Vire-Clesse

A lovely tight nose, similar to Clos de Four, with some excellent fresh fruit, a bit of greengage. Lovely balance to this, nothing overweight. In fact, this is the best Viré-Clessé we have seen. 
Jasper Morris, MW - Wine Buyer

It was a rush to get everything in on time in the Mâcon vineyards but the team managed it. All the wines now show a light touch of deliberate reduction on first opening, part of the fresh, anti-oxidative regime.

A fresh pale colour, this is beautifully concentrated on the nose but not at all fleshy, and then a wealth of fruit kicks in on the palate. All is neatly harnessed, the vintage and the appellation marrying well. A wine full of energy. Drink 2018-2021.
Jasper Morris MW, Wine Buyer

Dominique Lafon and his cellar master, Caroline Gon, took a great deal of trouble in 2015 to get their picking dates exactly right. They started on 28th August and picked their Mâconnais wines across a 13-day period, as each sector ripened, with the result that they have avoided high sugar levels and have kept the desired element of freshness in their wines.

Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon 's Viré-Clessé is made from the old vines surrounding the Château de Viré. It has a fine pale colour and a rich, almost exotic bouquet. Despite the opulence of the nose, the wine is very harmonious on the palate, with some greengage and melon fruit. It has impressive weight and a fine, long finish. 
Jasper Morris MW, Burgundy Wine Director

Both 2012 and 2013 have proved to be half-sized crops for Dominique Lafon’s Mâconnais domaine, nonetheless, 2012 was a very fine vintage here, and all wines were bottled just before the harvest, using DIAM corks.

This St Véran from Dominique Lafon has an opulent nose with touches of pear and fresh apricots but a tighter, more classically delineated palate follows. Give this another six months to settle down and it will drink very well from the coming summer.

Coming from 60-year-old-plus vines, this was harvested not overly late in order to avoid the ultraripe, honeyed style of Viré-Clessé. Indeed, the nose is bright and balanced. On the palate there is yellow fruit – a huge volume of it – yet with a crisp, crunchy finish.

The 2014 wines were all bottled just before the 2015 harvest using Diam10 corks, and the crus – such as Viré-Clessé – have a slightly different label (effectively the same as those for the other Mâconnais wines but with the colours inverted). Dominique thinks that 2014 is not only an excellent vintage, but also remarkably consistent for every part of the Mâconnais. The entire range is a joy this year.