2014 Domaine Sainte Barbe Vire-Clesse Thurissey
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Tasting notes
(from very old vines, including some Chardonnay Muscaté--some a century old--at the extreme northern end of the appellation): Bright yellow color. Suave aromas of ripe stone fruits and honey. A fat, sweet, plush wave of yellow fruits and spices in the mouth, given shape on the back half by surprising emerging acidity (4.8 grams per liter). This voluptuous wine really clamps down on the finish, with its salty minerality emerging to give the wine grip. The yield here was under 40 hectoliters per hectare, according to Chaland, who added that the soil here--brown in color, with some large stones as well as a layer of heavier orange clay on top--is rare for the Mâconnais and more like the Côte de Beaune.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(from brown clay and calcaire , with acidic clay subsoil): Bright, pale yellow-green. Lemon, lime, white peach, anise and a whiff of pastry shell on the nose. Silky-verging-on-thick on the palate but energetic too, conveying lovely inner-mouth citrus/floral lift. This strong, fine-grained wine spreads out to saturate the palate on the rising, saline finish. A slight sweetness (about four grams per liter, which will require filtration) should be at least partly absorbed with aging. Serious, rather tightly coiled wine.