Generous and demonstrative, the 2018 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet bursts from the glass with aromas of pear, peach, honeycomb, blanched almonds and white flowers. Medium to full-bodied, ample and satiny, its fleshy core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it concludes with a long, expansive finish. Somewhat reminiscent of the 2012, despite the two vintages having essentially nothing in common, it will offer an especially broad drinking window.

The 2016 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with notes of elderflower, beeswax, pear, white flowers and peach. Medium to full-bodied, satiny and precise, it's lively and concentrated, concluding with a saline finish. This is a more elegant, less muscular wine than the 2015, nodding to the style of the lovely 2013. I vividly remember visiting the domaine in October 2016, in pouring rain, when everyone else in the neighborhood had finished picking and Gautier Thevenet hadn't yet begun!

The 2015 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet opens in the glass with notes of fresh peach, confit lemons, white flowers and clear honey. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and layered, with striking concentration, lively acids and plenty of well-concealed structure. Long and penetrating, this is a Viré-Clessé with considerable potential for the long haul, and though it will be released later this year, simply because the winery hasn't anything else to sell, I encourage readers to be as patient as possible. Gautier Thevenet suggests that this evokes the 2005 vintage, but it also bears more than a passing resemblance to the 1989—which is drinking at its peak today, age thirty.

The 2014 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet is showing very well, unwinding in the glass with aromas of green orchard fruit, almond paste and honeycomb that are still quite youthfully reserved. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, lively and elegantly textural, with a satiny attack, attractive purity and a suppler, more inviting profile than the blocky, super concentrated 2015 rendition, but it's also showing more reserve than the tender, inviting 2013. Though it can be enjoyed now, to my palate, the real excitement will come with a decade in the cellar, so patient readers should gravitate toward this bottling.

The 2013 Viré-Clessé Cuvée E. J. Thevenet is another beautiful rendition of this consistently superb cuvée, wafting from the glass with a complex bouquet of orange zest, white flowers, beeswax, acacia honey and ripe lemon. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, satiny and concentrated, with lovely depth and succulence, concluding with a long and youthfully tense finish. It's already comparatively elegant and expressive by the standards of this estate, making it more approachable as a young wine than the 2012 or 2011 were at the same age, but it will enjoy two decades of longevity—indeed, it's only just being released by the domaine. 2013 was a challenging year in the Maconnais, but this is the wine of the vintage.