2023 Viré-Clessé, Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon

Extremely inviting on the nose, with aromas of ripe citrus, stone fruit and orange blossom. The palate is juicy and textured, yet fresh. There’s good concentration owing to the Lafon’s low-yielding old vines. The ‘23 was vinified, parcel by parcel in steel thanks, then matured in demi-muid, allowing it to settle and meld and – perhaps counterintuitively – to gain in tension. It’s absolutely delicious right now, but will only improve, particularly in magnum, over the coming three to five years. Its long, subtly saline finish underlines this wine’s class.