The 2017 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros bursts from the bottle with an exuberant, fruit-forward bouquet of peaches, citrus blossom and Meyer lemon. On the palate, it's full-bodied, broad and fleshy, with an ample core of fruit, ripe but tangy acids and a precise finish.
The 2014 Chablis Grand Cru Bougros, is vinified 60% in used wood where it matured for six months before being transferred to stainless steel. It has a showy, generous bouquet with dewy Granny Smith apple, freshly sliced pear and chalk-scented nose. There is no holding back here. The palate is fresh and crisp, very harmonious, not powerful as such, but displaying admirable precision on the finish. I would agree with Didier Ségieur in that this forms one of the more approachable, less-challenging Grand Crus.
The vineyard of Bougros can often produce a more forward grand cru, but the 2015 from Domaine William Fèvre has plenty of cut and grip to go along with its beautiful fruit tones. The wine wafts from the glass in a classy mix of golden delicious apples, pears, lemon, a hint of the acacia blossoms to come, chalky minerality and just a whisper of vanillin oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very pure, with a great core, fine mineral drive and a very long, vibrant and racy finish.
"Aromas of aniseed and lemon rind with dried apple and pear follow through to a full body. Yet, it's tight and layered with a compact palate and plenty of fruit. Needs time to open. Try after 2023."
Pale green-tinged yellow; does not look like a 2013! High-pitched nose offers lime zest and oyster shell minerality, with very little sign of botrytis. Densely packed and pliant but not at all heavy, with seductive sucrosité leavened by harmonious acidity. This very long wine will be easy to drink young.
A subtle touch of wood sets off the restrained and all but mute nose where about the only identifiable aromas are green fruit and algae so be sure to decant this if you’re going to try a bottle young. Otherwise there is very fine richness to the big-bodied and overtly powerful flavors that deliver stunningly good length and depth. This is mildly rustic but has so many other things going for it that it’s worth considering anyway.
Very pale lemon-yellow. Vibrant aromas of white peach, grapefruit, lemon and crushed stone. Bigger and sweeter than the Vaulorent, showing grand cru weight but not quite the same energy or cut as the premier cru. This very backward, saline wine communicates an impression of strong dry extract and citrus thrust. The yield here was at least 40 hectoliters per hectare in 2014, according to Séguier.
The 2018 Chablis Bougros Grand Cru is far more forthcoming than the Valmur, presenting gorgeous orange, peach, tinned apricot and light pineapple scents that are very seductive. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, taut and fresh. This immediately puts the Valmur in its place with a penetrating, saline finish that leaves you wanting another sip. Superb.
Very pale green-tinged yellow. Lovely perfumed lift to the aromas of pink grapefruit and white flowers. Dense, saline and sweet; concentrated, rich and ripe but with lovely tension and tactile dusty-stone minerality to its grapefruit and ginger flavors. Picked at the perfect time, as Bougros harvested too late can be heavy. Serious but not austere, and very long on the aftertaste.
A subtle touch of wood sets off the restrained and all but mute nose where about the only identifiable aromas are green fruit and algae. There is very fine richness to the big-bodied and overtly powerful flavors that deliver fine length and very solid depth. This is certainly very good though it clearly is not at the same level as its other grand cru brethren.
