Bougros produces rich wines, and this wine comes from the extra-ripe vineyard at the base of the slope. It is generous, giving a weighty character with the flavors plumbing the depths of richness. On top, a beautiful, almost sweet acidity leaves a fresh feeling in the mouth.
This is perennially one of my favorite wines and one that I buy virtually every vintage. The 2013 version displays a deft touch of oak that again is sufficiently subtle as to allow the ripe and very fresh white and yellow orchard fruit, sea breeze and iodine scents to shine. There is excellent punch as well as fine detail to the almost aggressively mineral-driven flavors that possess good power but also a lovely sense of refinement on the wonderfully long and impeccably well-balanced finish. Exquisite.
Broad, powerful flavors of lemon, lanolin and quinine ride the bracing structure to a long, stony conclusion. Shows balance and length, building from start to finish.
Very pale yellow with a faint green tinge. Lime zest, white flowers and white pepper on the bright, high-pitched nose. Sappy, ripe and substantial, showing sexy sweetness of fruit in a technically very dry wine. Superb acidity and energy here, but not as tightly wound as the Preuses. The full south exposure of the vines gives this wine its amplitude and generosity. As with the regular Bougros, this large-scaled, long wine is not at all hard or austere.
Pungent yet elegant white peach nose displaying discrete power. Fine attack, precise and lifted, with ample fruit and a light touch. Silky and refined with a clear minerality on the finish.
Oyster shell, stone, apple, melon and lemon flavors highlight this intense Chablis. Firm and long, with a resounding aftertaste of mineral.
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.
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.
