Château La Varière, Bonnezeaux Les Melleresses, 2009 - 50cl
Château La Varière, Bonnezeaux Les Melleresses, 2009 - 50cl
- Dessert
- 50.0cl
- 11.5%
Château La Varière Bonnezeaux Les Melleresses has a ripe and concentrated nose, combining citrus fruits, sweet spices and tropical fruits. Similarly concentrated on the palate, both rich and harmonious. Despite its weightiness and oily texture, it is initially restrained due to its youth, showing candied peel, dried apricot and quince with its sweetness countered by a disarmingly fresh level of acidity. Delicious now, but with plenty more enjoyment to come.
Shortly after taking over at Château La Varière, Jacques Beaujeau bought a parcel of vines in Bonnezeaux about 10 kilometres south of Brissac. His Les Melleresses vineyard is wonderfully sited in relation to the River Layon for the early and extensive development of noble rot. Varière's parcel of Bonnezeaux is at the western end of the appellation, on steep, south facing slopes just above the distillery of the small town of Thouarcé.
Gold Medal Winner, Decanter World Wine Awards 2016 (2014 Vintage)
- ❖ ABV: 11.5%
Grapes
Chenin Blanc
Vintage report
The Loire in 2009 had the kind of growing season that makes growers nervous for the right reasons: a hot, dry summer that pushed ripeness to levels the region doesn't always see. Yields were down, concentration was up, and by harvest time there was genuine excitement alongside the usual anxiety about whether the Atlantic had anything unpleasant planned. It didn't. Conditions held, and what came in was ripe, healthy fruit across the board.
The results were striking. Chenin Blanc in Savennières, Vouvray, and Montlouis produced wines of real weight and richness — the dry versions have a grip and depth that reward patience, while the sweet wines from Quarts de Chaume and Bonnezeaux are the stuff of serious cellaring. Muscadet, often overlooked in great years, also delivered. Reds from Chinon and Bourgueil filled out in ways that leaner years don't allow. Most wines are drinking well now, though the best Chenins have years ahead of them — we wouldn't rush anything serious until 2025 or beyond.
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